Episode VII: The Future Unwritten
by numtwelve
Summary: LUKE SKYWALKER has seen the future. The galaxy has a threat of a future that is unfavorable for the NEW REPUBLIC, and LUKE'S family. GENERAL LEIA ORGANA and CAPTAIN HAN SOLO revel in their newborn child, while LUKE, the last hope of the Jedi, desperately tries to undo what he has seen... Spoilers for TFA, TLJ & TROS. Canon pairings and EU gloriousness
1. Prologue

Star Wars Episode VII: The Future Unwritten

LUKE SKYWALKER has seen the future. The galaxy has a threat of a future that is unfavorable for the NEW REPUBLIC, and LUKE'S family.

While GENERAL LEIA ORGANA and CAPTAIN HAN SOLO revel in their newborn child, while LUKE, the last hope of the Jedi, desperately tries to undo what he has seen.

Meanwhile, sinister powers begin to fully unravel the threat to the galaxy, in areas of space unknown...

Prologue

_The desert planet of Jakku reminded him too much of Tatooine, but that's where the story began. A resistance fighter, a droid, and a curious girl, Rey, who reminded him of someone yet unnamed. In an interesting development, a Storm Trooper was an ally encouraging descent. _

_A young Kylo Ren is the terror of the stars, and was the son of Leia and Han, having turned evil with encouragement from a new master. He had an arsenal at his disposal under the First Order, the likes of which reminded him way too much of the Death Star. The Resistance was strong, and defeated the weapon with heavy losses, including Han._

_Rey turned out to be strong with the Force and came to an old Jedi for training. The tides turned for her, though, as the Jedi had renounced his old ways and refused to aide in her learning. _

_The link between Rey and Kylo distressed him greatly, as their relationship grew. The two were clearly drawn toward each other through the Force. Together they defeated Snoke, Kylo's master, but they were unable to agree on which path they should take together. They ended up separating._

_Rey trained, under Leia, and learned about the Force as much as she could. She was drawn to Kylo still, which became quite unfortunate as she tried to hide from him. The Emperor was back! And Rey was his granddaughter, with potential evil running through her veins! This couldn't be possible…_

_Leia dying caused Kylo to pause just enough for Rey to deliver an ending blow but seeing the scared child peeking through the mask of a monster, she rushed to heal him. She had felt Leia die as well. Though she rushed away from him, he followed and helped her end the Emperor once and for all, at a high cost of Kylo – no, Ben! – losing his life. _

_Rey had helped save the galaxy, but would be alone since Han, Leia and Ben were all gone._

Luke shook his head and glanced around him quickly, as a trained Jedi would who sensed danger and death. The hallway of the medical center in Hanna City, Chandrila was vacant around him as he tried to calm himself. He could see Leia and Han in the room opposite where he sat, holding a small bundle. His brain began to sweep through what he just saw, and he got caught up in the future vision once again.

"Luke?" He felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. He shook off the vision and stared up into the face of his friend Han, who was smiling down at him. "Do you want to come meet my son?"

"_Your_ son? Who just spent three days trying to deliver him? Can we at least agree he's _our_ son?" Leia chided from the room, laughing softly. "Luke, get in here and meet him before I have to put him down to bed."

Slowly, and with every effort to block out what he had just seen, Luke stood up and walked toward his sister and nephew. Leia saw right through him, of course, and gave him a curious look. He shook his head and reached out indicating he wanted to hold the baby. Without a word, Leia handed him his nephew.

Big brown eyes stared up at him, seemly wiser than his scant age of a few hours. Luke became disengaged immediately as the vision came back in full force as the realization of the child's future hit him. Now, Leia was more than curious.

"Luke, what is it?" She asked, leaning toward him, the smile having fallen off her face.

"Nothing, truly. I am just amazed to be holding such a beautiful child…and realizing that I'm related to him!" he joked, hoping she wouldn't probe too far now. The panic from earlier was definitely coming back.

Han sat down next to Leia, still smiling, reaching for her hand. "I don't know why you are surprised, kid. With a handsome man like me, and a beautiful woman like your sister, it makes sense our kid would be so nice on the eyes."

Leia rolled her eyes but smiled up at him. Luke was struck by the love in the air between them. For a few moments, while they concentrated on each other, Luke took the opportunity to probe the child. '_Death, destruction, hatred…it's buried but it's there. There is at least one other presence here, waiting for him to come of age and display his powers before they dig in deeper!'_ Luke's thoughts churned quickly, realizing he would have to cut off those channels or the child would definitely fulfill the vision he had just seen.

Breaking the concentration, the baby began crying. Luke handed him over to Leia, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "Ben is a beautiful baby, Leia. I'm so happy for you both."

Leia smiled, while Han looked up at him. "How did you know we were going to name him Ben?"

He looked at his sister and smiled back at her. "A feeling," they both said together. Han shrugged and shook his head, muttering something about 'Force users.'

Luke made his way out of the medical center, and toward the outreaches of the city as quickly as he could. Most of the inhabitants lived within the city, but he found that it was too hard to live in town, so he had a small cottage in the outskirts of the plains. It was positioned right near the calm ocean; whose tide was so light it never seemed to pose a real danger. The sounds lulled him to sleep quite often.

As he topped the final hill leading to his home, he saw the familiar silvery wisp starting to take form next to the ocean. Luke was not surprised; in fact, he was grateful. He needed someone to talk all this over with.

He passed his house and made his way to the slowly forming figure. While he wasn't surprised to see the person taking form, he was in absolute shock when he saw more wisps joining the first. Soon, Luke found himself staring at the faces of the last several hundred years of fallen Jedi.

'Much to discuss, have we,'

**A/N:** **Hello lovelies! Welcome to a new story that I've been working on. As you can tell, this is my own interpretation of what I would have liked to see for the sequel series. I do not dislike all of what was done, but I had my own idea of what I wanted to see. There may be moderate mention of things in the sequel series movies, but mostly this is going to be my own story.**

**I am pulling from the EU for some names, planets, etc., and ultimately this universe belongs to Disney - this is just my spin. I hope that you will find EU Easter eggs that I've scattered throughout the story. I will post sources for each chapter, in case you want extra reading and enjoyment of this amazing universe.**

**This will be a three part story arc, with Part 1 fully written already. Part 2 is already underway and will be complete by the time I am done posting this part. I hope you enjoy my little story! **

**Also, this story will be posted on AO3! Come find me there!**

Chapter Sources:

search/

wiki/Ben_Solo

wiki/Chandrila

Movies:

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Star Wars The Last Jedi

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker


	2. Chapter 1

_He passed his house and made his way to the slowly forming figure. While he wasn't surprised to see the person taking form, he was in absolute shock when he saw more wisps joining the first. Soon, Luke found himself staring at the faces of the last several hundred years of fallen Jedi._

_'Much to discuss, have we,'_

'I'd say that's an understatement.'

Luke stared out at the sea of faces; some were so solid he could almost reach out and touch them, but many others were more shadowy, faces obscured in light. Those that were solid around him, sat in a semi-circle, glancing at each other.

"I am not sure how to process this yet. I feel like I was just washed and laid out to dry, having been beaten with a stick first."

'Son, tell us what you saw. All we have seen was great distress.'

Luke sighed, staring at his father, and began to retell the vision. The sea of Jedi murmured; he didn't get far into the story before he was interrupted.

'This child is strong with the force already. He has a dark and twisted soul.'

"No! That's not him! He was born with a channel open; I sensed an evil presence in his mind."

'If it's only a channel, you should be able to close it now. You never got to that part of the training, did you? We will need to instruct you.'

'How does he simply close a channel without eliminating the Force?'

'Easy, it will not be. Closure of the Force itself will be needed.'

"I don't understand, I have to close him off from the Force? I can't just close the channel to Snoke?" Luke had no idea how that would work. For a Force-sensitive child, that seemed like torture.

'If Snoke is insistent on staying connected to Ben, then closing him off to the Force may actually be the only way.'

'It will be painful, yes. Something will feel off to the child. Fortunate, are we, that he is so young and may not understand the full capacity of the issue at hand.'

"I don't want to cause him pain!"

'It will not be painful at first. When you release him and open him back up, he will be flooded with the Force. Think about how it would feel to lose your sight. If you got full sight back at one time, it could feel overwhelming – painful even, because your eyes are not used to the light. This is so with the Force as well.'

Several murmured their agreement. Luke felt moderately encouraged by that.

"I simply cannot let this future come to pass. I have to do something to stop this or I will lose everyone! My sister and Han will suffer as a result."

'Luke, continue. Tell us the rest of the vision.'

Luke attempted to continue but was stopped again. This time by a voice he didn't recognize.

'What of this girl, Rey? She has a strong connection with Ben in the vision; perhaps if we find her, she would be able to stop his descent to the dark side.'

"She won't be born for at least another twelve years. If we wait that long, we will have already lost him. And who knows what the Emperor would have been able to accomplish in that amount of time."

'Emperor!?'

The hum of noise got louder as Luke realized he hadn't gotten to that part yet.

"Let me finish explaining the vision."

He completed the vision, sitting back. The hum of noise was much louder by the time he had finished.

'Emperor…is alive? How is that possible?'

'In my youth, I saw a death blow act as though a tiny scratch. The Sith can use the Force in an attempt to increase their endurance and reduce damage.'

There was a shocked silence as everyone absorbed the statement.

'Stop it, you must.'

'How does he do that? He's one man against my old master. You all don't realize the power the Emperor has! He should have died after what I did, yet he lives on.'

"That's something I cannot see. How did he survive what you did to him on the Death Star? The past should be much clearer than the future."

'Shrouded in evil. Whatever he did must be masked so others cannot discern.'

'An old trick, to ensure no one can duplicate your brilliant ideas.'

Luke stared out and made eye contact with many there. He was met with mostly concerned faces, until he reached his father. The anger was evident on his face.

'It's true what they say; pure evil never dies.'

"Regardless, we have to stop this. What do I do?"

'This is a vision of the future, Luke. One possibility among many. There is no guarantee that this will take place as you foresaw.'

'Always in motion is the future. Difficult to see.'

'There are several things that must have already happened to even set this in motion. Luke, you must focus on the Emperor. He is the key in all of this and must be eliminated now, before he can put his hooks into anyone else.'

"I don't even know where he is," Luke was starting to feel panicked. Back when Obi-Wan fought the Sith, he had others to help him. The magnitude of what he knew was coming hit him all of a sudden. "I barely got out with my life the last time, Father had to help me because the Emperor is more powerful than I am. How do I win against him on my own?"

'Patience, Luke. We have time. We will teach you all that you need to face a Sith master in battle.'

"We don't have time, though," Luke sighed and put his head between his hands. "Ben is already open to the Emperor by way of Snoke. We must stop that first before I seek out the Emperor."

'Right, let's discuss how to close his connection with the Force. This will be temporary, as you can lift it once the Emperor is taken care of. If Snoke is as powerful as the Emperor, then we must be cautious going forward. He may well continue to come after Ben. Based on the vision, we should also focus on finding Rey as soon as she is old enough to help. Her connection with Ben will aid us in keeping him in the light.'

'What's that age then, hmm? She isn't due to be born for twelve years. What do you propose? We keep Ben on ice until she is what, five? Six?'

'Always with the negative. Brothers and sisters, hear me.'

Everyone stopped and quieted. Luke almost smiled; only one person can demand that kind of silence with this crowd.

'The plan is simple. Close him from the Force first, must you. That is the only way to ensure Ben will not have Snoke in his head as a youngling. Seek the Emperor out, for this is vital. Defeat him alone, you cannot, but help you, we can, to aid in his demise. Then we discuss what's next, for the future can be what we make it.'

Luke nodded, among a sea of many others.

'Yes. Listen to Yoda, you must accomplish these tasks.'

"Does anyone know where Palpatine is?" Luke looked out to the Jedi, as they all looked at each other. "Then we have to add searching time to our plan. The vision was clear on where he will end up, that doesn't mean he's there now."

There was murmuring in the crowd again, this time louder than before.

"Let's talk about how I cut Ben off from the Force."

Sometime later, Luke's head was throbbing from all the new information he learned, but he was solid in the plan to help his nephew.

'Now, the Emperor. Much harder, is that, to go over.'

'Once you find him, you can use the Force to aid you in discovering if he has any weaknesses, and what they are. In this, I can advise. I have successfully used this in my youth.'

The ghosts were nodding in agreement to this comment, so Luke felt encouraged. He listened intently as the Jedi described how to achieve this, and how he is able to use it whenever he wished. It was not simple and took several hours of study to achieve. By nightfall, Luke was drained.

'Luke, you must rest. We cannot continue any longer tonight. We must allow him to rest after training. Let us go and return tomorrow.'

Luke smiled gratefully at his father. The Jedi all began to vanish, save one.

'Take heart, Luke. We will help you avoid the future you saw. The Emperor is powerful, yes, but you have every Jedi with you for this battle. You are not alone.'

Luke woke the next day feeling drained, as if he had been exercising heavily the day before. The Jedi assured him this was normal; anyone going through strenuous training as he was would feel the same.

'We would always have a rest session early afternoon, after the midday meal for the younglings. Initiate training can be very grueling. By the time you are a padawan you should be used to this kind of training. You missed a few years of training.'

Luke grumbled as he ate his morning meal. "Can't I at least get some privacy while I'm eating?"

Unfortunately for Luke, the Jedi didn't let him rest. They started him immediately after his meal on heavy training with the Force. The first of the training sessions focused on him gaining more control and helping him develop discipline. Luke knew that he had some control already, but they were working to help him develop it even more.

'When your mind is at peace you will feel the Force flow through you. Know when it is working, you will.'

His grumbling began when they tried to go back to teaching him the basics, that he had learned years ago.

'Start running before you can walk, you did. Basic interpretation of the Force is key to control. Learn it you must if you wish to remain in control during a battle.' Yoda pushed him to a point of exhaustion, but some of the others were easier on him.

'You know this, Luke. Focus and clear your mind. Push out with your feelings. Do you feel the circle of power that surrounds you? Use this to locate a place where you feel calm. At peace. Let it work through you, surround you, and push it out from you.'

Luke's training continued on like this for days. So long that he had almost lost track of time. They taught him battle techniques, pieces of Jedi history that he had never learned before. He felt calm and powerful, like he could accomplish anything.

'Mind the power, Luke. Don't let it control you as I did. Soon you will be ready to visit your nephew again. We must maintain focus on your training so you can help him. Just keep that in your mind as you work.'

And so he did; focusing on his family proved to be a good motivator. He knew he would be able to help Ben, and Han and Leia, when the time was right.

**A/N: First, thank you all for your comments and PM/DMs! I'm happy that you are enjoying, so I wanted to provide a faster update. Note that normal release days will be Tuesday and Friday. So, Chapter 2 will be posted Friday per normal cadence.**

**Also, I am sorry to have not added this in the last update, but I have two people to really THANK SO MUCH for helping me. First is my husband, as this entire fic was his idea. His ideas, pre-reading and comments are so helpful and without him this wouldn't be possible at all. Additionally, I want to say a HUGE thank you to my Beta Zombified419. Thank you for the grammar checks, the thoughts on content and just helping me through this entire process!**

**I hope you enjoyed a little early release, and will enjoy the rest of the story going forward. Thanks for reading!**

**Sources:**

**Movies:**

**Star Wars The Phantom Menace**

**Star Wars The Clone Wars**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: We dive into the Force a little more here. Just go easy on me; I did research and everything but I'm not a Force user (man that would be sooo cool!), so I did my best. Read on!**

Luke continued his training through the next few weeks with the Jedi. They were always there when he woke up, and usually Obi-Wan or his father would make them stop the training so he could eat or rest.

'Some who have been in this existence for a while forget such things,' Obi-Wan told him once.

It was almost a month later before Luke made it back into the town to visit Leia and Han. Walking through the city streets, Luke was struck by the noise all around him. Having been in his quiet hut along the shore for so long since the battle of Endor, he found the peace easier to deal with. People and droids bustled around the city at a fast pace, unnerving him and causing him to see shadows.

Once he made it to the New Republic headquarters where Leia and Han lived, he was frazzled. Walking up to the protocol droid guarding the entrance, he answered the appropriate questions and was waved through. In the elevator, he questioned himself again for coming here. He was not ready to perform the procedure on Ben, but it could not wait. When training with the Jedi, they all realized how far Snoke had probed already. He was running out of time to undo the damage already done. It couldn't wait until Luke felt ready.

"Hey, Luke! Great to see you!" Han looked more tired than usual; Ben must be keeping them up at night.

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." He walked into the room, sitting down on the chair near the kitchen table. Leia was sitting next to him, nursing Ben. She smiled up at him, but her brow furrowed immediately.

"What is it?"

"I have something that I need to discuss with you," he looked up at Han, and added, "Both of you."

The next hours were grueling. Han's anger erupted very quickly, and hadn't really simmered down. Luke tried to provide some reassurances, but it was difficult when he was nervous as well. Leia had remained silent.

"Because of your stupid ancient religion, MY son is in danger?" Han yelled, for the second time.

"Han, sit, please. I need to finish," Luke tried to convey calm, but inside he was almost more scared about the last part he needed to tell them. Leia looked at him, her expression blank.

"After I got home, I was visited by several Jedi-"

"Wait, there are more? I thought all the Jedi were gone?" Han's voice was mildly calmer, and he finally sat down.

Luke shook his head. "All of the Jedi are gone, except me. They are remnants of the soul, an essence, of a Jedi gone, but who live on through the Force. They are not alive as you and I, but they can speak and interact if they choose."

"So, you see dead Jedi walking around. Are they here now? Do they watch you?"

Luke smiled slightly. "No, they only manifest when I need them. Otherwise, they are…well, wherever they go when they die."

"What do we do about this?" Leia finally spoke. Luke could feel the pain and turmoil within her. Hearing what would become of her new baby must have been terrifying for her. Luke placed his hand on hers.

"I am getting to that part. When I got back home, there were Jedi waiting for me."

"Who?" She was beginning to sense something.

"All of them."

Han and Leia glanced at each other, and reached out to each other. The gravity of the situation was apparent now. If all of the fallen Jedi had come in to help, this must be more dire than they originally thought. Luke let them stew on that revelation for a few moments, before continuing.

"I have been training with them; that's why I haven't been back to visit sooner. While I will not say that I am an expert, I believe that I can cut the channel between Ben and Snoke." Luke mentally crossed his fingers. "If you will allow me, I can do this while he sleeps. It will take me some time to accomplish. I am told that I will use up a lot of energy in the process, so when I am done I will need food, drink and rest."

"And you-they-are sure? That this will work, I mean." They both looked nervous, but Han, not having much understanding of the Force, was worse off. Leia's expression was grim, but he could feel her confidence in him. He hoped it wasn't in vain.

"They are sure. I have spent the last month training so that I can do this. An old Jedi Odan-Urr explained it is the most powerful attack a Jedi has. It will protect Ben against Snoke. We do not want Ben cut off from the Force forever, but it will serve for now to aid in stopping Snoke. I will lift this when I am back from my fight. Once I have Ben cut off from Snoke, we have other plans we need to discuss."

Han and Leia nodded their agreement; Luke stood and made his way to the back bedroom where Leia had placed Ben earlier. Walking into the room, Luke probed with the Force to determine if the baby was asleep. He was not.

Luke gently took Ben out of the bed and placed him on the floor. Ben's wide eyes stared up at Luke, with a glimmer of something showing. Considering the age of the child, his eyes appeared too wise. Luke was sure that this was Snoke looking through them. All the more reason to begin at once. In order to ensure the baby didn't disrupt him, Luke gently put him to sleep. This should hold until he was done.

He sensed her before I saw her. "Leia, I need to do this now. I cannot wait."

"I know that. I am here to help you, however I can."

"Leia…"

"He's my son, Luke. I cannot just stand by and watch." He felt her lay her hand on his, which was resting on Ben's stomach. Through his hand, he felt her strength, love and support. It helped fuel him forward.

Luke focused on the Force: the air around him, his sister's love, Ben's heartbeat. It circled like a strong wind, encasing him in warmth and power. He sensed the Jedi all around him, encasing him in a shield while he worked, encouraging him to keep going through the exhaustion; without words, but feelings.

With the Force at his back, he started working. He probed until he felt the evil. Sensing great resistance, he began spinning a web of light around the child, effectively closing him off from the Force around him. At some point during this he felt Han place his hand on his shoulder, providing whatever strength he had as well. The light around the child started to grow and became too bright for his senses. This was expected, and he pushed on with determination.

Once Luke was sure that the light encasing the child was solid, he brought himself out of the forced meditation to look upon Leia and Han. Ben was sleeping soundly still, but his parents looked exhausted.

"You did it," Leia said faintly, as she sat back and leaned against the wall.

Han looked between them. "You can tell he finished?"

"I can sense and feel the light around Ben. It's keeping out the evil influence." Leia reached out and touched Ben's face. "If I'm not mistaken, the evil is still trying to get back, but it's blocked."

Luke looked at her in surprise. He knew Leia was Force-sensitive, but he didn't realize how much she could see while untrained. Indeed, the evil was trying to get back to Ben, but was unable to penetrate the Force shield that Luke had constructed around the child. Luke could sense its anger as it continued to probe.

To Han's credit, he didn't comment. He simply stood up and helped Leia to the living room area, so she could sit more comfortably. He came back for Luke, and helped him as well after placing Ben carefully in his sleeping bed.

Luke found that he could barely lift his head, let alone walk. He was grateful that Han was able to carry him out of the room before laying him down on a bed of pillows and blankets. Remembering what Luke had told them, Han also began forcing him to drink slowly and gave him a few bites of bread. Without tasting it, Luke let him give the food and drink.

"How do you feel?"

"Sunburned." Luke tried to sit up but didn't have the strength. "I need to rest for a while. Make sure Leia gets some food and drink as well; she was working as hard as I was."

"I'll take care of her."

Luke faded out and slept. But his dreams were fitful.

_The Emperor__'__s anger was palpable as he raged against his servants. After being cut off from the child, the heir to Lord Vader, he was forced to change his plans. As the guards congressed around him, he began to formulate the way forward. Snoke stood at his side, waiting for further instruction._

_'__Go, my apprentice. Seek out another. This one is closed off from us for now, so we must start anew. I sense many Force-sensitive children in the Galaxy. Find one that will suit our needs.__'_

_Snoke stalked off leaving the Emperor surrounded by slain guard. The Emperor surveyed the damage he had caused and looked to his brethren._

_'__Take me away from here. Surely the son of Vader has seen where we are. We must keep hidden in order to fulfill our destiny and rise through the ashes of the Sith.__'_

When Luke woke, he felt stronger, if not discouraged by his vision. He knew that the Emperor would not be happy with his meddling, and was expecting something like that. But to hear about the Force-sensitive children being stalked by Snoke, that made his stomach churn.

Looking around him, he saw that Leia was also up and feeding Ben again. Luke closed his eyes and felt the air around the child. The wall was still up and strong, and Luke could sense the baby only; no dark influences under the surface. Based on his vision, this is also what he expected.

"Leia, let me show you how to do this," he said, walkover over to them as Leia lifted Ben to her shoulder. "When I'm gone, you will need to monitor to ensure the encasing doesn't stall or drop. I can also teach you how to tell if Snoke comes back within Ben…if he gets around what we've done today."

"Is that really necessary? You just said that you were sure it had worked?" Han was still resistant to the Force, and having heard all that would happen to his child, it made sense that he would be concerned about Leia being a part of it as well.

"Leia must learn the ways of the Force if she is to help me. I have to seek out the Emperor, and I do not know how long that will take me. I also do not know if I will make it out alive." Luke turned his head to Han. "The last time I fought him I only got out because my father aided. He was strong enough, but I am not. Not yet, anyway.

"What happens if I don't make it out alive? Someone has to remove this constraint from Ben. We don't want him cut off from the Force forever."

Han muttered something that sounded like 'would that be so bad,' as Luke turned back to Leia. Her eyes met his and she closed them immediately. Luke felt her harnessing her strength and attempting to reach out to Ben. She was clumsy still, but had great potential. He took her hand and, with his own feelings, showed her how to reach out. He told her, without using words, how to remove the wall and showed her how to encase her feelings around it to determine its strength. When he opened his eyes, Leia was smiling.

"You are a natural, Leia. Perhaps Obi-Wan chose the wrong twin to begin training. He would have been thrilled at your progress. Yoda as well." Luke smiled at his sister.

"I learned by watching," Leia laughed. "Or whatever you call that."

Han just shook his head and took Ben from her, holding him close. "Now what happens? He's cut off from the Force and this Snoke thing, what do we do next?"

"The block must be removed by his fifth birthday, no later. If I succeed in my mission, we will remove it when I get back, as long as there is no concern to do so.

"The Galactic War just ended, but do not think for a moment that there will not be fighting or cleaning up. You know as well as I that not everyone will abide by a peace treaty." Luke warned, reaching for his drink again. "I must continue on my path to locate the Emperor. You two can stay here, or go somewhere to protect Ben. I have some thoughts on that, but would like to hear yours first."

"Why do we need to go into hiding? I thought you two just took care of this Snoke person?"

"He is unable to reach Ben, but he is very much alive out there. I do not know how he will feel about being cut off like this."

"Luke, I can't leave now. The New Republic is just being formed. And you are right about the clean up, that's why I can't leave now." Leia frowned and looked at Han. "Do you think we should go into hiding?"

Han stood up, visibly frustrated. "I don't know, maybe we need to stew on this for a few days. This has been heavy enough today."

Leia nodded. "For now, we will stay here. But, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Luke thought back to the conversation he had with the Jedi the day before.

_'__There is a Jedi temple on Ahch-To. Very remote, other than the inhabitants of the island.__'_

_'__Send them to the outer rim; keep them away from anyone else.__'_

_'__Why send them in the far reaches of space? They can be just as safe on Takodana.__'_

_'__Why Takodana?__'_

_'__It is the planet that connects the inner and outer rim. There are parts of Takodana that haven__'__t ever been explored, since it's mostly just used as a stopover. It never got involved in the Galactic war, it__'__s lush and green…'_

"There are several planets that you can go to that will hide you effectively. One that I do not suggest is Tatooine." Luke shuttered at the thought of his sister on that wretched planet. "But, there are others that may suit you. Consider old Jedi temple planets, as you will feel the Force is strong there. But, if not, there are others that will suit. Takodana is a good location to be, and has remote areas. You have friends on Endor, so that could be safe as well."

"How do I find Jedi temple planets?" Leia wondered.

"I will tell you some that I know offhand, but when you get to a planet reach out using the Force like I showed you. You will know." Luke thought for a minute. "The great temple on Yavin 4 was built by Jedi. I wasn't good at sensing the Force when we were there, but I hear it's strong there.

"D'Qar is also good, as it's in the outer rim. No Jedi temple that I'm aware of, but remote with virtually no traffic going by to spot you." Luke looked at them both. "I'm counting on both of you to be strong. I won't be able to help you, and I may not return. Keep each other and Ben safe. Don't go to a planet that people will associate with you – that means not Naboo, Leia. I can hear that."

Leia chuckled, and soon Luke joined her. Han just rolled his eyes, settling Ben in his arms more comfortably.

"Just come back safe, Luke."

"I'll try."

**A/N: So, thoughts? I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Thanks again to my beta Zombified419 for all of your help! More next Tuesday!**

Chapter Sources:

Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: An Essential Guide to the Force


	4. Chapter 3

Leaving Leia and Han was hard, but leaving Ben felt terrible. He just had to hope that he did this right so the child would be safe until his return – or, if he did not return, until Leia was able to lift the barrier and learn to train him with the Force.

Luke knew that his road ahead would be hard, but after the last vision he had he knew that it was necessary. He made his way back to his home, avoiding the heavy marketplaces and large areas of traffic as much as he could. The sun was setting, which meant that he had been right about the amount of time it would take to complete the process with Ben.

Obi-Wan and his father were waiting for him as he stepped inside his small hut.

'Well done, Luke. I can see the Sever Force worked.' Obi-Wan smiled in approval.

'Your sister did well also, son. She is strong with the Force and will be able to keep Ben safe until you return. You must ensure that she is trained as well, as together you will be able to accomplish much.'

Luke nodded and set about packing a few things for his journey. Mostly maps and clothing, and as many food ration packs as he could find. "Leia is stronger than I anticipated. I am not as spent as I thought I would be; I was not expecting her to provide me so much of herself in the process."

Anakin beamed with pride and placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. 'I knew she would be strong. Obi-Wan did as well; the two of you together will be able to meet an even greater strength.'

'It is unfortunate that we do not have time to complete her training before you leave. She would be a great asset.'

Luke smiled at them, thinking he was grateful that she wasn't trained. He did not want her to come with him in what was certain to be a life-altering mission. However, hearing what they said also made him more confident that she would be able to protect and train Ben.

Luke finished compiling all his supplies and sat down, staring at the two Jedi. "We need a plan of attack. The last month has been spent getting me ready for Ben, but now we need to discuss the Emperor."

They both nodded, and others began to appear. His small hut was full in short order.

'See, I cannot, where is he today. You must look, Luke.' Yoda said, closing his eyes.

Closing his eyes as well, Luke reached out and began to search through the Force.

'There will be a ripple, a dark presence. Search for that and you will find the Emperor.' Obi-Wan instructed.

'Snoke shrouded in evil, is he. Find him if you must, but he should fall when the Emperor is defeated.'

He ignored the chatter among the Jedi, as he was used to it by now. He continued to probe the galaxy searching. Several dark voids were on the horizon, but many he could wave off as sects of the fallen Empire. However, a strong urge was pulling him in one direction.

"The Mandalore system. I can feel an evil pull to a small moon in that system, Zanbar."

'Relics, I would think. Zanbar has been vacant since the Clone Wars.' Obi-Wan 'sat' down on Luke's bed. 'May not be of note any longer.'

"All the more reason it could be inhabited now. It's in the outer rim, and no one likes to go too close to Mandalore, even if there aren't many of them left."

'It's as good a place to start as any,' Anakin commented.

Luke opened his eyes and looked out at the Jedi. "What chance have I against him?"

The murmuring stopped, as all eyes turned to him. Several of the Jedi began discussion with each other, while the core group that he could see clearly looked stoic.

'Trust, you must, in the Force. It will guide you.'

Laying on his bed in the hut by the sea, Luke wondered and worried about what he would find. How long it would take him, and if he would be successful. His thoughts were consumed with worry as he knew he was not fully trained as a Jedi Knight.

'You worry too much, my son.'

Luke sighed, almost smiling. "Han asked me if you all just watched us and appeared whenever you chose. I told him you only appeared when I needed you. Perhaps, we were both right."

Anakin chuckled. 'I missed so much of your youth, I tend to stand by more than others. I want to help you if I can. I sensed your distress and came.'

"I worry that I am not good enough to do this, Father."

'In my youth, I thought I could do anything – be anything I wanted to be. I harnessed the Force easily and felt nothing could stop me. I'm afraid it was my undoing.' He leaned closer to Luke, sitting on the chair by the bed. 'The Jedi would tell you to put your faith in the Force and you will achieve what you should. Which is true; what the Jedi have always failed to really see is that we are all just human. We have fears, and this is normal. What you must do, Luke, is not let it overwhelm you.'

"But what if I cannot beat him? What if I'm not strong enough?"

'When Yoda fought him, he did not win.'

Luke's shock must have been evident on his face, because his father chuckled.

'Just before your birth he fought the Emperor, but he was too powerful even for Yoda. That is why Yoda went into exile. I was just coming into my dark side powers and…well, it's a long story. My point is that one on his own may not be able to defeat such a powerful person with the Dark side of the Force. But, as in all things that are hard but essential, it is worth it to try.'

"If Yoda couldn't beat him, what chance have I?" Luke was really panicking now. Yoda, the one that he felt was the strongest with the Force…if he couldn't defeat the Emperor then there was no chance that Luke could.

'I didn't tell you that to cause more worry, son. I tell you so that you understand that when you fight someone that powerful you cannot do it alone. We will be there to help protect you, guide you, anything we CAN do, we will.'

"The situation seems even more grave now, Father. But I will try to remember what you said. When I left to fight you, I was told that I had to do it alone. That was scary, but I was so determined to not let my family suffer that I had to go. I had to fight."

'Yes, son, think on that. Remember your vision and how much you want to avoid that future. Focus on your love for them and your need to see them safe. When I was young, I focused on these things as well, but I let anger and fear consume me. Don't go down that path, Luke, and you will prevail. I know it.'

"Father, I cannot do this! If even Yoda cannot battle him, there is no way that I can do it! You ask the impossible!" Luke stood up from his bed and began pacing. Anakin's face contained worry and concern, and he looked to his left as Yoda and Obi-Wan appeared.

'Luke, don't focus on the negative. The Force will be with you.'

"Obi-Wan, I cannot defeat him. Even Yoda couldn't!"

"Told you, did he, of my loss? The Emperor was younger, and in more control of his power. Legions of troops, a galaxy in his grasp, had he. Stronger.'

"Master Yoda, I am one man. I am tired from training, consumed with worry over my nephew and the future of the galaxy. This is a battle I simply cannot win on my own. You are all just ghosts; people formed by the Force to guide me. What can you do to help me in the middle of battle?"

The three Jedi paused and looked at each other. Anakin's face was easier to read, but Obi-Wan and Yoda faded briefly, before coming back and sitting on Luke's bed.

'Seek him out, you must, but to learn only. Determine his strength, his power. See, we cannot, what his status is.'

'You can find him, Luke, we know you can. Find him and learn. Do what you must to determine if he is damaged from our fight at Endor. If he is weak, try to eliminate him as we have discussed. If his power is as strong or stronger, which is doubtful, come back and begin training.' Anakin looked faintly worried as well, but looked like he was trying not to let it show.

"More training? Why shouldn't I just do that now?"

'No, not your training,' Obi-Wan said. 'You train others. Leia is strong, just as strong as you are. There are others – many others – that are Force-sensitive. You should seek them out and begin training them. Then, when they are ready, you return to the Emperor with an army.'

"A mission of reconnaissance only?" Luke was starting to calm down at this point. Traveling to learn was the best thing he'd heard all day. Rather than walking into what he knew would be fatal, learning what he could and making a decision at that time was of great comfort.

Anakin nodded. 'I think that's best, at least for now. We go under that heading and review when you find him.' He glanced at Yoda and Obi-Wan, who faded out of vision. 'I have a request of you, son.'

Luke looked at his father, curious, while Anakin looked uncomfortable.

'Your sister is strong with the Force and will need to be trained someday.'

"Yeah, I assumed."

If a ghost could squirm, Anakin did. 'And she will need to help you train others, so as to lessen your burden.'

"Ok…" Luke walked a couple of steps closer to him. "What is it, Father?"

"I…would like to meet her." Anakin turned away from Luke, hiding his face. 'I've only ever seen her as Vader, not as her father. I want to officially meet her.'

Luke was stunned silent. For some reason, he never really thought about the fact that Leia didn't know him as her father, not really. "Father-"

'Hear me out before you reply. I know that she may have a hard time looking on me without seeing him, but while you are searching for the Emperor, I would like to remain with Leia and begin her training. Obi-Wan and Yoda, and all the others, will be with you should you need them.'

Again, Luke was stunned. "You want to start training Leia? Now?"

'To begin, yes. You will finish when you return.'

Luke thought about this for a few moments. "I cannot force her to do this, Father. But I will speak to her."

'Thank you, son.'

"I appreciate this, Han."

"No problem, kid. I was going to stop by and check on the Falcon anyway. Chewy was doing a rehaul of the hyperdrive. Plus, I know all the tricks with ships; let's find one that will be the safest to take out." Han walked through the hanger bay near a medium sized freighter.

"This is a little big, isn't?" Luke asked, wondering if this was really the right choice. If his intent is to fly through the galaxy unnoticed, a freighter may not be the way to do it.

"Nah, listen. It's only a little bigger than the Falcon, and I got around the galaxy in her for years. What you gain with this is she's a little faster, so they say. You have two taser turrets, just like the Falcon, and you have sleeping quarters right next to the bridge. This way, since you'll be the only one onboard, you can just pop back there and rest while she's flying you somewhere."

"I don't know…"

"The Corellians know what they are doing with ship building. Lando and I have both piloted this baby in the past, and if I didn't have the Falcon, I'd fly her."

"Well, I guess that will work. At least it's not as obvious as my X-wing."

"That's the spirit, kid.

"Well, now that that's done, I'm going to go talk to Chewy for a bit. I also gotta get back to the command center. We found another Empire sect last night, so I need to stop by to get the latest info for Leia. You heading up to see her and Ben?" Han slapped him on the shoulder and smiled. Like all the smiles from Han and Leia lately, it felt a little forced.

"Yeah, I'll stop by before I head back home to ready everything. Thanks, Han."

"Anytime, kid."

Luke wandered around the hanger until he found a deck hand. He informed the man that he would be back to pick up the ship in a little bit and asked him to ready it.

"The VCX-100 is a good ship, sir. I think you'll enjoy it. I'll have her ready when you return."

Luke made his way to Leia and Han's place; Leia let him in and waved for him to sit. She was holding Ben while he slept. Affectionately, Luke placed his hand on Ben's head.

"Now that I have the ship, I'll be leaving in the morning, Leia."

She studied him for a moment. "You have something you want to ask me."

Luke smiled. "I need to remember to guard myself around you, unless I want you to discover all of my secrets." He shifted a little. "I have a request. From…our father."

Leia's face remained stoic, but he could feel something akin to hurt raise within her. She leaned down and kissed Ben softly, then stood up and walked him into the back room to place him on his bed. When she walked out, she looked up at Luke.

"What is the request?"

"He wants to meet you."

"Why? And, is that even possible?"

"I can teach you how to see and speak with him. It's very similar to what I showed you with Ben, how to search him with your feelings." Luke stood up and took a step closer to her. "When I'm gone, Father wants to start training you. That way, you can still learn the ways of the Force. I will complete your training when I return."

"I don't know. Truthfully, I am not sure that I can. I've watched him kill too many of my friends. He stood by while my entire home planet with my family was blown up!"

"I know you don't need me to say this, Leia, but it wasn't him. That was the Emperor's influence. You understand?"

Leia paused. Luke knew she was comparing that situation to what he had seen of the fate of her son. "Let me think about it, please?"

"I understand. I don't want to pressure you, but I really must leave in the morning. I'm going to head back to the hanger and get the ship and take it back home. I hate to do this, but you just have through today. Otherwise, if you decide you want to meet him you will have to do so without me there."

"I understand." Leia put her arms around him in a fierce hug. "I'm scared for you in this journey. But, Luke, thank you for doing this for my son."

"For all of us, Leia, including your son."

"Please take care of yourself. And, remember, you promised to train me to be a Jedi also. You cannot go and get yourself killed."

Luke laughed as he hugged her a little tighter. "I promise."

**A/N: Just a quick reminder, this is a story of my own creation. I have taken aspects from the movies, books, and other areas of the EU, but I tried to make it my own. Hope everyone likes it regardless :)**

**Just a little more into the details. Starting on Friday with Chapter 4 should get into some good travel fun for Luke. Once again, thanks go to my beta Zombiefied419 for all of her help!**

**Chapter Sources:**

** wiki/VCX-100_light_freighter  
Movies:  
Star Wars A New Hope  
Star Wars Empire Strikes Back  
Star Wars Return of the Jedi**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

By the time Luke got back to his hut, it was early afternoon. He spent the next couple of hours making sure all he had packed was loaded in the ship and familiarizing himself with the layout of the controls. A deckhand at the shipyard had already helped him some, but he wanted to make sure he wouldn't have any problems.

While making his evening meal, he felt the familiar presence of his father.

'You know, I never cooked well in my youth. I guess I was too arrogant to learn.'

Luke shifted from the stove, staring at his father. "You never talk about your youth, or how you turned. Just that you did."

'It's not a pleasant story, I assure you. Perhaps one day I will tell you.'

"Luke, are you in there?" Leia said from the outside of his hut.

"Yeah, I'm here. Come on in." Luke glanced at Anakin who was starting to fade away. "Father, stay."

'If you think that's wise.'

"I just came over to…" Leia stopped in mid-sentence, staring at the ghost of their father.

"Leia, meet our father, Anakin Skywalker."

'Hello, Leia. I'm so happy to meet you this way. I have much to atone for with you, my daughter. I hope that you will let me try.'

Leia, ever the diplomat, put on her 'proper' face and stared back at him. "It is nice to meet you officially as well. I just came over to make sure Luke had everything he needed." She turned to Luke, though her eyes flitted back to Anakin. "Do you need any additional supplies? I can have them sent over."

Luke nodded to Anakin, who faded away with a small smile on his face. "I have what I need, thank you."

"How could I see him? I thought you needed to train me before that was possible?"

"I guess you are already strong enough to be able to do it on your own." Luke sat down looked up at her. "Your control of the Force is amazing, Leia. I'm impressed, and I know our Father is as well."

She made no comment in reply but glanced around the hut. "I really should be getting back. No telling how Han is doing with Ben on his own."

"Thank you for checking on me. I will contact you as soon as I have more information and know what's going on out there."

"Be safe."

Back in the pilot seat of a ship made Luke remember the Galactic War. He used to love to pilot, but now it just brought back memories that, at sometimes, he didn't care to remember. Since he was on his way to fight the Emperor again, the memories were even stronger. He tried to not let the terror get the best of him as he locked in the coordinates for Zanbar.

Once he was far enough outside of the atmosphere of Chandrila, and the coordinates to Zanbar were entered, Luke began his calculations for his jump to the Mandalore system. Making sure to be careful, he entered them into the computer and activated the hyperdrive. As the ship propelled him forward, he sat back for a few moments to just think and reflect.

He took his father's advice and focused on the plan. His power may not be as disciplined as the other Jedi, who had training for years before they became masters, but he will use the Force the best way that he can. Flying through the stars toward Mandalore, Luke went over and over the training he had received and focused on calming his mind.

In just a few short hours, he was coming out of hyperspace approaching the Mandalore system. There were many planets between the edge of the system and where he was going, so he had to make sure that he dropped out before getting to that point. Luke was an experienced pilot, but not often did he fly this far out. Having no idea what he would meet in an outer rim system, he felt caution was wise.

He passed the planet of Mandalore and wondered if there were any inhabitants any longer. There was so much that he didn't know of that creed, so much he didn't know about the galaxy really. His focus in life had always been elsewhere. Once the Emperor was taken care of, and he was able to start his school, he vowed to dive into the lore of the galaxy. That would aid him with many things, including teaching his younglings.

As he approached the moon, Luke felt a disturbance in the Force. His early predictions were right, something is here. The evil radiating off it was so strong he could almost taste it. The moon itself was just one big swampy mess, similar, he was told, to Dagobah in some places. Zanbar also had high sharp ridges, which would make landing difficult.

Using the computer, and reaching out with the Force, Luke was able to locate a mostly flat area of a former base that he could land. He sensed no one around for miles, which mean he should be safe enough. Landing was tricky, the closer he got to the surface, the harder it was to see. Zanbar either had very limited contact with this galaxy's sun, or just had an odd orbit, because it turned dark extremely fast.

The old base appeared to be mostly gone from battle. There were a few buildings here and there, but nothing large enough to conceal his ship. He walked outside of the ship, closing the ramp to ensure no indigenous life made its way on. There were at least two creatures he had heard about that lived here, neither of which he was interested in meeting. Both vicious carnivores waiting for something juicy to fall in their path. He'd rather come back to the ship knowing that he could get in safely.

He took a quick walk around the base just to get an idea of his surroundings. The cold, damp air of Zanbar was unpleasant. He pulled his cloak around him tighter as he continued his survey. There didn't appear to be many supplies available, most had either rotted, been eaten or were scattered about broken. It was a good thing that he was not in need of resupplying his ship at this time.

The moon itself was very dark, almost gray everywhere; like colors didn't exist here. It made sense to him now why there would have been a base of Sith on this planet. It seemed to be fed from the dark. The jagged edges of the mountains, the total lack of all vegetation in some places, and all the overabundance of dark and twisted trees and vines really just gave the place an ominous feeling.

'Evil, this place is.'

'This may just be one of the many stops on your journey, Luke. This place may not hold any answers, but it is most definitely evil.'

"I feel like I need to meditate. Something is off about this place, but I cannot tell what." Luke glanced around at the Jedi, who all had a look of concern on their faces. "Not to be rude, but let me concentrate for a few minutes."

When they had all quieted down, Luke sat down, leaning against a large rock formation, and closed his eyes. Feeling the Force around him, he inhaled deeply taking the Force into himself. The air around him began to stir and he could feel the murky depths of evil swirling up from the ground. Around the evil was a shroud of time, making it feel as though it was not a recent evil.

The past was hard to see unless you were in full meditation. Luke dove further into the Force, so that time seemed to circle around him. He chose to investigate the history of this planet, wondering why he felt the strong urge to come here when the Emperor and his guard were not here.

Seeing the past starting to form around him, he concentrated. The camp that he was near was occupied by Mandalorians. But, not those affiliated with the main government. They were a sect in hiding, exile. He saw a murky scene where a Sith was with them plotting against them but in the middle of the group.

Luke opened his eyes and stared up into the face of the Jedi. "There was a Sith here; years ago, but I cannot see when. I must have been pulled here because of his presence."

Obi-Wan nodded. 'Maul, if I'm correct. When he was aiding the renegaid Mandelorians exiled to the planet.'

"Could have saved me some time and meditation, Obi-Wan," Luke grimmaced as he stood, shaking the earth off of his robes.

_ 'He has detected our plans,' Emperor roared. 'I told you to seek out a replacement for the boy.'_

_'Master, I have much bigger plans than just that. I will not just have one, I want many. The more Sith I train, the easier it will be to take over the entire galaxy!'_

_The Emperor laughed. 'Good. Good, my apprentice. Stay on Exegol for now with the Sith. Skywalker thinks I'm there, so when he shows, contain him. I will come once I know you have him.'_

Luke stumbled back and sank to the ground. "He's on Exegol."

'Impossible. Knows that you have seen his future, does he. Why would he be there?'

"No, Master Yoda, not the Emperor, Snoke. Snoke and all the Sith are on Exegol. The Emperor thinks that's where I'm going and told Snoke to hold me. He would come once I am there."

'Curious, Luke. This is the third vision you have had regarding the Emperor. I would think after the first one he would hide himself away, close off his decisions and location so that you cannot see them.'

"I was thinking the same thing. This must be a trap, Obi-Wan. But I don't think it is the trap that he said it was." Luke stood up and began walking toward his ship. "I think the Emperor wants to divert me, or wants me to show up with the New Republic's entire army, just so he can defeat them. Something is not right; I can feel it."

'Difficult to see, the outcome is. Fluid the future is; unpredictable.' Yoda looked at Obi-Wan.

'Luke, let's try this again in a more focused manner. Sit down and close your eyes. Calm your mind.'

Without thinking, Luke followed his instruction. He was used to Obi-Wan teaching him, so he never really questioned it anymore.

'Focus on the Force around you until you can feel its power and knowledge. Now, without losing focus, look into the future. What do you see?'

Luke felt the air circle around him, just like when he was closing Ben off from the Force. It radiated around him like a windstorm.

"I see darkness, red armored soldiers with fire all around them. The Emperor is angry, electricity is cracking all around him. Two that are one battle the darkness surrounding them. The hum of the Force around the battle is almost too loud."

'Focus on the area around the battle. Landmarks, terrain.'

Luke concentrated. The death in the vision was palpable, but he pushed past that. Focusing on death would cause him to lose the vision and his concentration. Focusing on the sites around the battle was actually easier.

"I see mountains…surrounded by jungle. There is an abandoned castle to the side of one of the largest mountains; there was death here."

'Hmm, yes, a battle site. Obi-Wan, look familiar to you?'

'Teth; that was one of the battles during the Clone Wars. I believe I spent some time there.'

Luke opened his eyes and looked at the Jedi. "What experience do you have with Teth? Is there anything I need to know before going?"

'Was a long time ago, I'm afraid, and not very helpful to the current situation.'

'Changed, the planet is. Seek this out but be warned to stay out of sight. I sense the Emperor may be guarded.'

Back in the ship. Luke readied the coordinates for Teth, in the Baxel system. This would take longer than his last jump, so after he set the auto pilot, he settled into one of the small bunks and attempted to rest. His thoughts were consumed with all the visions of the future.

'You are worrying again, son.'

"Father, how is it that I went years through my life with only a handful of visions of the future, and now all of a sudden I'm getting them almost daily?"

'The Force works in ways that are hard to understand at times. There must be something very significant around what's happening.'

"This last vision was different than the others. It felt different."

'How so?'

"I can't explain it, just...well, it felt more real than the others I've had recently. More solid, even though I saw less." Luke put his hands to his eyes. "I don't know if that made any sense."

'Visions of the future can appear murky when the path is not set. Perhaps what you saw was a fork in the road already solidified. Perhaps what you saw will come to pass.'

"There was so much death, Father. That's not how I want this to be."

'Sometimes death is unavoidable.'

**A/N: I hope you all are enjoying so far! Let me know your thoughts! Thanks again my fantastic beta Zombiefied 419!**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/Hyperspace

search/

wiki/Zanbar_Death_Watch_camp

wiki/Teth

'Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force 'by Ryder Windham


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The planet of Teth was worse than Luke feared. He approached the planet carefully, heeding what Yoda had advised, but the fleet of ships was not what he was expecting. There were 20 to 30 ships in orbit on one side, so Luke gave the planet a wide birth and flew to the far side in order to land. Unfortunately, as he was making his ascent, he realized that he had been spotted.

A loud warning alarm rang out, startling Luke. Looking at the alert panel, he saw the signal of a blaster shot about to hit him. Taking evasive action, he veered the ship to the right. He was not quite fast enough as the shot took out his left side of his ship. Acting quickly, he cut the conference room off from the rest of the ship, which stabilized the interior airflow. Multiple alarms began to flash as he plummeted toward the planet surface. As he entered the atmosphere, Luke tried to slow his descent by easing off the left engine, attempting to use the right to push back.

The right engine began to overheat, causing Luke to spiral. Closing his eyes, he focused on containing the fire on the left-side of the ship using the Force. The ship soon began to stop twisting in mid-air as the fire died out. Frantically back to the controls, he tried to slow his descent again, but with the left engine almost out of commission, he was unable to slow as much as he needed to. The planet surface was getting too close, too fast, as he hastened a distress signal to Leia. Given the current state of his ship, he wasn't sure that it would even make it to her, but it was worth a try.

Concentrating again, Luke was able to slow the ship's descent using the Force, but only enough to ensure that he would land without blowing up. The ship was in bad shape by the time it thudded to the ground. Easing a sigh of relief that he was no longer falling, Luke managed to unsteadily make it out of the cockpit and walked back toward the left side of the ship to survey the damage. The blaster shot had taken out most of the room in that quarter of the ship, and it was exposed to the planet at this point. He could see remnants of what used to be a table and console, but that room was most assuredly unusable for the foreseeable future.

He walked back to the cockpit to do a sweep of the immediate area. He had landed on the far side of a small clearing, right next to the start of jungle trees and plants. He was relatively out in the open, which did not bode well with Luke. His preference would be to hide the ship more, but he hesitated to attempt to move it.

'Use the Force, Luke. Hide your ship from view.'

"I guess I still have a lot to learn, eh, Obi-Wan? It's never my first thought." Luke almost smiled as he made his way down to the cargo hold of the ship. He lowered the ramp and walked outside. The air was humid, but cool considering it was the dead of night.

Walking as quickly as he could, Luke used the Force to close the ramp. He closed his eyes and focused his energy on the ship and was able to sort of push it into the jungle trees, before he used dead logs, leaves and pieces of the broken ship to seal the hole. This should eliminate the concern of any indigenous life from making their way inside. Satisfied with his work, he used the Force again to reopen the ramp, and made his way back inside.

Since he was exhausted from the traveling already, he decided a meal and an attempt to sleep was the best course of action for the moment. He didn't really know where he was supposed to head, nor if whoever shot him had seen where he fell. He placed the sensors on high alert with air proximity being most important, and then walked back to the mess room.

'Tired, are you. Rest you must if you are to face the Emperor tomorrow.'

"I thought I was just doing reconnaissance?" Luke almost spit out his ration.

'Fight, you must, if you are to win the war.'

"Master Yoda…"

'He's right, Luke. Trust in the Force and you will prevail. But you need to make sure you get some sleep. Your body needs to be as energized as possible.'

"Did you agree to reconnaissance just to get me out here?"

'Necessary, it was, to ensure victory.'

"You take too much for granted. And you ask too much of me." Luke continued to eat his rations and considered the situation. "You know how this is going to end!" The ghosts said nothing, which was enough for Luke. "I knew it. I am being herded toward my 'destiny.'"

'That's a broad word, Luke. We are simply here to aide you. We cannot tell you what to do, but we can guide.'

"Push, more like it," Luke muttered as he cleared away the remnants of his dinner. Making his way to the crew quarters, he found a room that was toward the center of the ship that had a control pad. Keying in the alert code to wake him up at first light, he went to the cot and tried to get comfortable. He knew his thoughts were going to keep him up, but he tried to clear his mind and finally began to drift off.

_Pain and anger. Red smudges and falling debris were all around the fighting, causing fear to the inhabitants of the war. Then, out of nowhere, an overwhelming feeling of pure love and acceptance began seeping into him, filling him and healing. The red began to recede as the Force shone almost from the inside out._

Luke woke with a start. The alarm was raging on the console, causing him to rouse out of his murky dream. Racing to the panel, he reviewed it to determine what set off the alarm. It was only the alarm to wake him up, for which he was grateful. He headed into the lav to cleanup and prepare to leave the ship.

"Father."

A moment passed.

'Yes, Luke?'

"I have a vague feeling of which direction I should go, but I cannot get any kind of clear idea on coordinates. How can I make that clearer, so I know where to go?"

The silence from the ghost made Luke turn around. Anakin was sitting on the cot in the quarters and was staring silently at him. Slowly the ghost rose and 'walked' over toward Luke.

'I'm sorry, son, but I cannot help you with that. You must find this on your own.'

"You can't just tell me how to find it? Isn't that like training or something?"

'I'm sorry that I cannot help.'

Luke took a deep breath. "I don't understand what's happening. You guys lied to get me here and now you can't even train me on how to determine the way to go?"

'You are tired, son. You know the answers already.'

"I don't know any answers, Father! I am out in the middle of nowhere heading into a fight that I cannot possibly win, because all of you pushed me into it, and now you won't help?"

Anakin said nothing, and Luke realized fighting with a Force ghost was futile. "I guess you'll do whatever you must. And, I supposed that I must as well. Maybe it's my time to join you."

He was being melodramatic, and he knew it, but his frustration and anger were starting to overcome him. Sensing disapproval from the other ghosts that began appearing next to Anakin, Luke sat down and began to meditate. Gradually the anger faded and peace along with understanding came to him. He calmed his mind, as he had been taught to do so long ago and felt around him.

Reaching past the ship, he ventured out into the forest. There was a lot of wildlife all around him, mostly small creatures, nothing too big or dangerous. Pushing past the forest and searching with his feelings the area around it, focusing on things dark and evil.

"There's a stronghold, on the other side of the jungle I'm in currently. It's a few hours away, but there is a concentration of evil and I can sense…Leia! They have Leia!"

'Luke, rest your mind and search again.'

"I thought you couldn't help me," he muttered to himself. Calming even more, he searched the place again. "That's not Leia, but there is something. Something that I cannot see, but I can feel that there is more…"

Luke opened his eyes and studied the Jedi standing around him. "You knew he would trick me."

'Evil, the Dark side is. Using the Force against nature. Be wary of it; the compassionate side of the Force can be used for the Dark side's agenda. Be cautious.'

Luke stood up and went back to gathering up everything he needed into a bag. He took provisions, a com for the ship, and any type of gear that would help him in the jungle. After securing his light saber on his belt, he surveyed the ghosts again.

"I will be cautious, as I always am. But know this: I am frustrated with all of you that I cannot get help on this trek."

'Luke, we will-'

"I will do this because I need to, not because you have forced me into it. I will do everything within my power to save my nephew and my sister, Han…and anyone else marred in the vision. I will not allow that to take place. If I end up joining you, but still correcting this horrible misfortune, then so be it." And with that, he left the ship, taking care to close the ramp and move branches to cover it even more.

The humid, hot air congealed around him, making him feel drenched almost immediately. Unfortunately, there was little that he had that would help. He had several canisters of water to ensure he didn't get dehydrated, several days' worth of rations, camping necessities and two blasters in addition to his light saber. The heavy pack did nothing to dispel the burden he was already carrying, and he felt like he was going to suffocate underneath the responsibility.

'This is not the first time you have felt this way, child.'

A female voice said from behind the shadows of a large tree. Luke stopped short and stared at the Force ghost materializing in front of him. She was a little shorter than he was, but not much, with a kind and smiling face.

"Who are you?"

'I think we are supposed to be mysterious, in this form. That has never suited me well,' she said, flippantly. 'I am Depa Billaba, Jedi…well, I was going to say Jedi Knight and Master, but that seems sort of silly. Of course, I'm a Jedi if I am visiting you in this fashion.'

"Uh, nice to meet you," Luke stammered, having no idea what to make of this strange creature.

'Ah, I have startled you, I see. My apologies, young one. But I wanted to speak with you. Let us continue to move, as we really shouldn't stay in one place for too long. I have many things to say.'

Without comment, Luke continued his journey with Depa at his side. She was silent for a moment, perhaps gathering her thoughts, and Luke did not question her. She would speak when ready.

'When I was young, as you are, I was enthralled by children who questioned what others thought to be normal. The padawans that I had were only such children, ensuring that we were both always learning.' She laughed suddenly. 'I believe that most of the Council did not care for me, my ways, or my padawans, but I paid them no mind. I was always more sensitive than most to the Force, and I knew my purpose here.

'I wanted to speak to you regarding your speech back at the ship. I wanted to commend your attitude, actually.'

"You do not think that I was harsh?"

'No, child. Some forget what it's like to be a young one and have this kind of pressure put on them. Or, perhaps, they have never known this kind of pressure. I, myself, never had to deal with what you are, but I can imagine, and I see your point.'

"Do you know what I should do?"

Depa was silent for a moment before stopping and facing Luke. 'I cannot tell you something that I am forbidden to say, but I will say this: trust your instincts. Your internal guide will not be wrong on this occasion. Trust in the Force, yourself, and your abilities – in that order.

'I do not envy your road ahead, child, but I will tell you that what they have told you is true. We will be here when you need us.'

"Everyone keeps saying that, but it sure doesn't feel like it. I am scared, tired and feeling every bit as alone as I felt going to the Emperor the first time. I don't know what I'm doing."

Depa laughed again. 'Nor would any of us in your place. You are smart and capable, which puts you above others in your path. Just remember to trust yourself as you step forward.'

Depa's voice grew faint as she completed her thought. Luke took a step from behind another tree and came face to face with a battalion of guards.

"Stop!"

"Drop your weapon!"

Luke immediately went into a defensive post, pulling his lightsabre from his belt. As he ignited it, the guards came closer aiming their blasters at him.

'Just let them take you, child. Don't fight them. Now is not the time.' He could hear Depa as if she was standing next to him. Trusting in her judgement, he turned off the lightsabre and dropped it, holding his hands in the air.

**A/N: I hope you are all enjoying! Much Love to my beta, Zombiefied419 for everything!**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/VCX-100_light_freighter

/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1617904174

wiki/Teth

wiki/Depa_Billaba#Early_life


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Luke was dragged, pushed and finally carried into the Emperor's encampment, whohad taken refuge in what looked like a castle on the top of a mesa just outside of the jungle. The pointed roof on the towers near the main building looked to have guards stationed on top of them, which seemed quite strange to Luke. Why would you position guards on top of a roof?

The guards took Luke up to one of the towers and threw him in to what looked like a regular room. It was certainly not used as a jail cell, as there were no bars. Looking out of the open window, Luke estimated that he would probably die if he jumped, considering he couldn't even see the ground from where he was, but it was a worthy consideration if nothing else went right.

Now that he was caught, Luke became more determined to do what he came here to do – or was pushed into, really. The Jedi want him to fight the Emperor, so be it. He would fight for the good of the galaxy!

'Don't be so dramatic, child.'

"You don't think that is the fate that I am fighting for, Depa?"

She materialized and was sitting on the cot in the corner of the room. She had a dry look of humor on her face as she stared back at him.

'I used to tell my students to make sure they lived today, not tomorrow.'

"What does that mean exactly? Make themselves martyrs?"

She barked a laugh. 'Oh, I like you, child. You would have made a wonderful padawan and would have definitely gotten along with the others.

'No, I mean think of what must be accomplished today, not what has to be done tomorrow.'

Luke shook his head, a smile playing on his face as well. "Why are you here?"

'Do you wish me to leave?'

"No! I just meant, why aren't the others here?"

'Oh, those old prunes. They think you are angry with them, so they are letting you cool off. I told them that children your age run off at the mouth but are over it shortly after.'

"But you came anyway?"

'Well, child, I have given you no reason to be mad at me.' She smiled up at him.

Luke went to sit next to her. "What else did you want to tell me, Depa? You were saying things and I assume faded away because of the guards. It sounded like you weren't quite done.'

She waved her hand off. 'Later. Listen, Luke.'

Muffled sounds were getting closer to the door to his room. It sounded like guards.

"-and then I asked him how stupid he was."

"I'm sure that he liked hearing that."

"He's a moron! We were told to stand guard outside of the door, and this idiot decides to take a lunch break. So, that's why I grabbed you to head up here. If someone is going to get in trouble, let it be him and not me."

"How long do we have to stay here?"

"I don't know. I just know that he told us to remain vigilant, that the prisoner would try to escape."

"I don't see how, the door is locked, it's at least a 500 metre drop from the window. He'd be crazy to try."

Luke looked at Depa, who had an amused look on her face. 'Oh how well they don't know you, child,' she said quietly.

Luke grinned back at her and walked to the window again. The sun was still up, so it would be foolish to try and escape now. However, if he managed to land on the rock ledge below him, he could easily do this at night. Even if they had the same amount of guards surrounding the castle that they did now, it would be an easy drop. From his window, he could almost see the main part of the castle, but he could definitely see the plaza area in front of it. That is where most of the guard was, along with the Emperor's Lammda shuttle. He would have to be extremely careful, though, and make sure he hit the ledge. He shuttered to think about how far down that went.

Settling back down on the cot, Depa reached out and took his hand. He felt something like warmth seeping into him from her as she closed her eyes. Luke followed suit and began to meditate with Depa's help. Focusing on his surroundings, he pushed out with his feelings. He purposely did not think about the future, the past, or his present situation, but focused on just being in the room with Depa. He was sure that this was her intent, as her understanding and approval was practically shining out of her.

As he focused on what she directed him to, he began hearing voices around them. Snippets of conversations being had all over the castle. She stopped directing him, allowing him the opportunity to hone in wherever the Force steered him.

"-waiting to get off. I want to see that guard posted inside who had some dice game set up in his quarters at night."

"-if they would let me take a break for a minute? I barely slept last night…"

"-conquer the galaxy, just as the last time. This time, though, the plans are more focused."

Luke focused on the last person, who appeared to be a general of some kind speaking to others of similar rank.

"The Jedi army is not created yet, but the Emperor is sure that they will be soon. We must continue to focus our efforts on gearing up toward that battle. He believes that we will not be able to stop them ahead of time, so we should plan for the future."

"How many more men do you think we need for this?"

"The Emperor said that we need hundreds of legions, so as many men as we can get. My direction to all of you is to focus your troops on villages scattered within the outer rim. Try to get them at age 5 or younger; that way they are still trainable without worrying too much about their own will."

"When do you want us to start? Are we needed here, or can we begin now?"

"Once this meeting is over, that side of the table will head out. The rest will remain here."

There was murmuring of agreement, and Luke pulled back and looked up at Depa. She smiled at him and looked up to see there were several more Jedi in the room. Luke looked around at the familiar faces, some he did not recognize of course, but he was getting used to that.

"They take children?"

'Since the cloning center on Kamino was shut down by the Empire, that is how they gather new troops.'

"Obi-Wan, he is talking about taking children around the age of 5 or smaller. If they are focusing on that age, surely that means that the war is way in the future. It would take years to condition and train children." Luke shook his head. "All those children! This is horrible!"

'Master Windu?'

'It's an old habit of the Sith, stealing children so they can make sure they grow up into who they want them to be. The Jedi did something similar. I was given to the Jedi when I was just a child because of my Force abilities, and I was a participant in many screenings of young ones to determine if they belonged in the Jedi temple as well. Obviously, the Jedi are just and good, where the Sith are not. Nevertheless, it is something done for many millennia.'

"This does not make it right!"

'Indeed, child, it does not. This is what you fight for. Depa leaned toward him again. 'More, Luke. Dive in deeper.'

Luke was about to close his eyes when a thought occurred to him. Looking to Depa, as he figured she would be the only one to actually answer his question, he asked, "You are not here to guide me through the future, are you? You are guiding me through the past?"

She smiled broadly. Thought she didn't answer first.

'Difficult to see, the future, as I have always said. Much to learn from the past there is.'

"I get it now! Why Father is telling me about his youth, Depa explaining the padawans she had, Obi-Wan and this planet…you are guiding me through learning what has happened so that I am prepared for what will happen!"

Depa continued to smile at him. Anakin joined her, though Mace, Yoda and Obi-Wan did not.

'You have much to learn about the Force still, Luke. You cannot move forward without this knowledge.'

"Why did you not tell me before? I have always been ok with being taught."

Yoda barked a laugh at this. 'Impatient, are you. Reckless. You want the answer to each problem as it happens. Diving into the past does not interest you.'

"Master-" Luke was cut off as the door opened and two armed guards came in and roughly grabbed him.

"Let's go!"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Shut up! No talking!"

The guards kept to the interior of the castle as they escorted Luke; he didn't have a good look outside. He was hoping to be able to see more of the surrounding area to determine how he could get away later that night. Without being taken into the courtyard, though, he would have to wing it as always. The guards didn't say anything as they were moving him, but that was fine with Luke. He wasn't certain where he was going, but he had a horrible feeling that he wasn't going to be happy about it.

Eventually they stopped and threw him into a large chamber. There was a clay fireplace toward the back, and at least two legions of guards lining the walls. Luke picked himself up from the ground and looked around the room. Outside of the guards, he couldn't see anything else. None of them moved, but he was handcuffed; so, they were probably not worried about him running away. As he was looking around, four of them broke off from the rest and walked toward him. Two went to secure the door, while the other two grabbed his arms roughly and began pulling him toward the fireplace.

"Hello, Jedi," came a very familiar voice, from behind the guards next to the fireplace. "You have been busy."

"I should have known that pure evil would never be able to die," Luke said, standing his ground. If he was going to die by the Emperor's hands, then he was going to do it standing up to the man!

"Your father was a fool to think he could stop me, and so are you. Your failure before just means that you will fail even worst this time. I am stronger and more powerful than you can imagine." He stepped out from behind the guard and Luke was taken aback.

His hands were sort of shriveled a little, but the damage to his face was worse. If Luke hadn't seen any visions of the man and knew who it was, he would have thought it was a walking corpse and not someone to fear.

"The gravity of your situation is not realized, is it, Jedi?"

"Oh, I know what I've gotten myself into, your highness. But I will not back down. I will not let you complete your plans."

The Emperor roared a laugh. "Foolish child! My plans are already complete! You have stopped access to the boy, but that is not of consequence. We have worked around that minor snag and I have continued to build everything I wanted. You have stopped nothing!"

Luke smiled slightly, which seemed to irritate the Emperor even more. "I know that Snoke and your army are on Exegol; I know that your troops are kidnapping children to build your army up because you know our numbers will grow, and I know that you are here because you know that the New Republic will not allow you to stay alive. You feel that being here provides you an edge in battle, since they will have a hard time getting up at the top of this hill to attack you. You are defeated already, your highness, you just don't realize it yet."

The Emperor's already twisted face conformed even more in anger. He raised his hands and pushed the lightning through them at Luke. Luke was expecting this and didn't fight it. He knew the Emperor would lash out.

"We've beaten you, your highness." Was all he would say. His body jerked as he was electrocuted, but he did not call out. He was ready to die.

A commotion from the front of the room caused the Emperor to stop what he was doing. The guards began running out of the room, weapons raised, while the Emperor began to retreat into a chamber behind him.

"Take him back to his room."

Luke was unable to stand as the guards grabbed him and hoisted him back to his room. The commotion was louder outside of the room, but he was in so much pain that he couldn't tell what was happening.

"This is from the Emperor," sneered the guard, who roughly shoved a knife into Luke's stomach as he was laid on the cot in the room.

Pain enveloped Luke as the guards left laughing. His mind shrieked out to Leia, warning her of the Emperor and Snoke, and that she must continue what he was doing to ensure the safety of their family. Luke felt the Jedi appear around him and felt their strength. He knew that they would help Leia to be able to win, so he started fading in and out of consciousness knowing that all would be well eventually.

In his pain filled state, he felt the building shake. He vaguely saw crumbles of the room begin to fall, and he realized that he needed to get out. He wrapped the blanket around his stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding as much as possible while he walked to the door. Miraculously, the guards had not locked it.

He peered out into an empty hall and crept out. The pain in his stomach was stopping him from making great progress, but he still inched out as quickly as he could. By the time he made it to the courtyard, he was actively stopping himself from passing out in pain.

He saw the Emperor's red-clad guards fighting other soldiers in the courtyard, which was full of blaster shot sounds and yelling. He couldn't quite focus on the battle and he found himself falling to the ground unable to stand any longer.

Pain engulfed him, and in a fit of clarity, he saw that the soldiers around him were from the New Republic. Anger at the Emperor and causing more loss of life accompanied the pain now. The last thing he wanted was more death.

Something hit his leg, causing him to look down. A small piece of the castle had fallen on his leg, causing no pain but indicating that the castle was being damaged. His blanket was soaked in blood, so he averted his eyes. The courtyard had falling debris among the fighting, and he could feel the fear from the soldiers around him.

As he began to lose consciousness, most likely for the last time, he felt someone touch his hand. He didn't have the strength to open his eyes, but he knew who it was. Her love and acceptance began seeping into him, filling him and healing his wound. The blanket began to clear as he felt the Force shine from the inside out.

As he regained his strength, he looked up into the eyes of his sister and smiled. "About time you got here."

**A/N: So, I am super excited to announce that Part 2 (Episode VIII) has been officially finished and was sent off for editing! That means that when I am done posting this part, I can slide right into the next one. More to come on that!**

**After this, we slide into what I like to call the "liberty-taken" section (as if I haven't been doing that already). I did build upon things already in the EU relating to Star Wars, but I also decided to really make it my own. So, as you read on just remember this is where I take liberties with existing lore.**

**Thanks again to my beta and friend Zombiefied419 for all of her help and encouragement! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/B%27omarr_Monastery_(Teth)

wiki/Battle_of_Teth

Movies:

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (movie)


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_As he began to lose consciousness, most likely for the last time, he felt someone touch his hand. He didn't have the strength to open his eyes, but he knew who it was. Her love and acceptance began seeping into him, filling him and healing his wound. The blanket began to clear as he felt the Force shine from the inside out._

_As he regained his strength, he looked up into the eyes of his sister and smiled. "About time you got here."_

"Not my fault you had to choose a planet in the outer rim. Took forever to get here." Leia smiled down at him amid the chaos around them.

Luke smiled back. "How did you learn to do that?"

"Anakin taught me. It was one of the first things he chose, which turned out to be easier when focused. Han hurt his hand while fixing the Falcon, again, and I was able to heal it. Anakin said I did really well." She looked very proud of herself, and Luke knew why. He hadn't been gone but a week at most, so that made her grasp of healing so quickly amazing.

"I'm glad, Leia. Thank you," he said while standing up and hugging her.

"You guys gonna gush over the Force, or you gonna help us out?" Han yelled from a few feet away, while fist fighting with an Imperial guard.

Luke reached out with his hand and threw the guard over the side of the mesa.

"Show off," Han muttered before moving to the side and aimed for the guards on the top of the castle.

Luke reached for his lightsabre before remembering that the guards had taken his sack and his weapons. Reaching out, he took hold of one of the blasters from a guard a few feet away, pulling it toward him. It flew very close to Han and Chewy. Chewy growled at him, turning around to face the wall again aiming at the guards on the roof. Luke grabbed the blaster as it screamed through the air at him, taking the gun and hitting one of the guards on the roof right in the chest. He plummeted down off the roof and hit the ground with a thud.

This gave his position away to the guards. Leia ran out of sight, firing her own blaster, to find shelter from the storm of blaster shots raining down on them. Luke ran to the opposite side, hoping that the guards would follow him and not Leia. To his satisfaction, the blaster shots followed him to the side of the building, where Han, Chewy and a dozen other New Republic fighters were also finding shelter. The shots continued to go until one of the guards held up his hand.

"Hold now. They are ready."

Luke had no idea what they were talking about, but everyone else stopped firing so he did as well. The Imperial guards kept firing, but everyone on the other side had stopped. A low rumble could be heard in the distance, coming from the side of the cliff of the mesa. As the sound got louder, Luke began to determine what was happening.

All the New Republic fighters had scattered off the main plaza area, and were hiding near the Lammda, in front of the of the gate separating the plaza from the castle.

"Soldiers; clear the temple," said one of the fighters near him.

"Temple?" Luke asked.

"The main building up there is the B'omarr Monastery. It's an old temple no longer in use," said one of the other fighters, since the leader was still barking out orders.

"Welcome to the fight, kid," Han said, amused.

"Hey, I was brought here by Imperial guards. I didn't fly directly to this location you know." If Han responded, Luke didn't hear it. Right as he finished his comment, there was a horribly loud noise rising to the plaza level on the mesa. A large airship, blasters pointing, was gearing to fire. The Imperial guards began firing at the ship, but to no avail.

The airship fired heavily on the door leading into the temple's plaza area, and past the gate that locked in the internal temple area, causing the Imperial guards to falter, and many to fall. Luke and Han stepped out the same time and aimed at the guards on the temple adjunct roofs. Since they were focused on the airship, Luke and Han were able to take them out easily. This ceased the firing from above.

"Always having to save your ass, kid." Chewy growled in agreement.

"Oh be quiet. You enjoy a good fight and you know it."

Han and Chewy both laughed. Han shot at one of the guards who hadn't been killed in the airship's attack. "I would rather be taking a nap."

"But is not this what we do best?" Luke pulled himself away from the shuttle, ran toward the gate and Force jumped his way on top of the rock gate that surrounded the temple. He could hear Han's derogatory comments, but they were ignored. Luke carefully peered down over the gate to get a look at the Imperial fleet on the other side. Many were dead, laying on the ground surrounding the blast made by the airship, but there were at least three battalions gearing up to fight. They severely outnumbered the New Republic fighters.

Jumping back down to where Han, Chewy and the others were, he relayed what he saw to the commander. He immediately picked up his radio and began talking strategy with, Luke assumed, someone on the airship. Leia appeared next to them holding Luke's sack that the guards had taken from him.

"I found this lying next to a bunch of dead Imperial guards. I thought it looked familiar."

Luke grabbed the sack and rummaged around; gratefully he pulled his lightsabre out, ignited it and Force jumped back up to the top of the gate. Without hesitating, he jumped down to where the Imperial guards were, and cut one down immediately. Getting the attention of the others, Luke began to deflect blaster shots and he started eliminating the guards, fighting his way toward the temple door.

He heard a commotion behind him and sensed Chewy, Han and Leia coming in behind him, having used the door instead of his method. Luke kept his focus in front of him and continued to fight against the guards. He kicked one toward two others, effectively flooring three at once, while he deflected two more shooting at him. Angling his lightsabre just right, the next two blaster shots he redirected into two guards storming him, stopping their progress. Fighting through the group, he felt Leia get injured. Though he could tell it was minor, it still made him pause just enough that a blaster bolt hit him on his side.

Ignoring the pain as much as possible, he retreated to check on Leia. Han was hovering over her, while Chewy was shooting guards as they came closer. The rest of the New Republic fleet began to attack the remaining guards that were still coming.

Bending down over his sister, Luke examined the blaster shot that hit her arm. "Why do you always hurt your arm?"

"Because she holds it out too far when firing." Han was riffling through his back to get a bandage, but Luke put his hand on Han, stopping him.

Putting his hand over the wound, Luke began to Force heal her. "Maybe she likes the attention?"

"Maybe she wants a week off from her responsibilities?"

"Maybe she's tired of both of you talking about her as if she is not here. He caught me by surprise, in case you were interested." Leia stood up, shaking them both off her. "I can manage quite well on my own, thank you. No need for two mother hens to follow me around."

"Hey, who just healed you?"

"I was making sure you weren't going to die on me!"

"Oh, enough of you two." She stormed off toward the entrance to the temple leaving them both behind. Luke and Han quickly got up and followed close behind her while Chewy remained behind with the New Republic fighters still battling the guards. They skirted around the pillars in the walkway and helped the fighters out by eliminating the guards they were fighting.

Slowly, they gained ground toward the temple door, but the number of guards increased as they got closer. Luke remembered the conversation he had overheard and ran back to the Republic commander.

"Commander, the Emperor's troops are cut in half. The other half are exploring the outer rim for children. They are trying to build up their army again."

"Well, let's hope they are far enough away to not receive any alerts to come and help. We were barely able to defeat the barricade in orbit; a lot of our ships took damage in the process."

"Commander, we are outnumbered here. We need more troops to get through the group at the door of the temple." Luke and the commander looked up to see Han, Leia and the remaining Republic fighters hiding behind the walkway pillars as they got pummeled by blaster shots.

Luke ran up to join them and stepped out from behind the pillar deflecting the blaster shots back into the sea of guards. Taking them down slowly, he was able to gain some momentum fighting the solders. Han and Leia came up behind him, shooting at the ones that were still attacking. Chewy came running up yelling something to Han.

"What are they doing?" Han yelled, leaning slightly toward Leia.

Luke look closer at the guards, who were shifting to the side just a little. Out of the center of the darkened temple door bolts of electricity came and shocked all the fighters to the ground. As quickly as they started, though, they stopped. The Republic fighters, and the four of them, were all on the ground having taken the electric bolt straight to their chests, stunning them. As they started to recover, all the Imperial guard, including the Emperor he assumed, began to fall back into the temple.

"They are falling back. They know we have them."

**A/N: I wanted to celebrate the completion of Part 2 by giving all of you another chapter! I'll go back to regular days (Tuesdays and Fridays), but today is just because I'm so excited and wanted to move forward.**

**Couple of reminders: We are in the Liberty-Taking section, right? I love Star Wars and have watched it for years - I do not claim to be an expert, and honestly there are things that I altered for my story. No getting mad at me for it! :) **

**Also, just a reminder I'm posting on AO3, in case you wish to read this story there instead. I am readying Part 2 (and about half finished with Part 3 already) so that I can slide right into posting that. As we get closer to the end I will give all of you the details for Part 2 if you want to keep reading.**

**Thanks to all of you who continue to come back! It means the world to me! Also, thank you to my beta Zombiefied419 - couldn't do this without you my friend!**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/B%27omarr_Monastery_(Teth)

Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

**Movie Sources:**

Star Wars The Attack of the Clones


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_"They are falling back. They know we have them."_

"Have them? Are you kidding me?" Han scoffed, standing up and reaching his hand out to Leia to help her up. "What the hell just hit us?"

"That was the Emperor. He has the power to shoot electricity at an enemy." Luke thought for a moment. "I suppose he could probably do that to a friend also, not sure why-"

"The Emperor did that?!" Han yelled at Luke, taking a step closer. "I didn't know we were here to fight him!" Chewy barked an agreement.

"What did you think I was doing out here, Han, chasing wompas?"

"I knew what you were doing, kid, what I'm saying is I didn't know that I had to fight that crazy bastard. I figured you would take him out before we got here."

"It's not that simple…"

Han sighed. "It never is." He ambled over to where the commander was and sat down next to him, leaning against a pillar and motioned for Chewy to join them. Leia looked up at Luke.

"What should we do now? This complicates matters. The B'omarr don't exactly make their strongholds or temples easy to get into. Once taken, they are usually gone permanently."

'The Hutts took this temple over from the B'omarr, and then it was also taken from them. There is a way.'

Leia and Luke both looked up to see Obi-Wan standing beside them. Leia all but dropped her jaw at seeing the Force ghost, especially where they were.

'Princess, I regret that we were never able to meet in person. I respected your father, General Organa, a great deal, and I've watched you enough to know that you are just like him.'

Leia blushed, which was very unusual for her, and she stammered a quick thank you. Glowing praise from a Force ghost you've never seen before was too much for her.

Sensing her discomfort, Obi-Wan turned to Luke. 'There is a way to get into the temple center, Luke. Remember your path?'

"Leia, there is a side door. Through that door on the side of the plaza you can get into the tower where I was held. There was an interior hallway into the main temple chamber." Luke looked back to Obi-Wan while Leia ran over to Han and the commander, pointing to the side door. "I see you decided to help me after all?"

In a rare moment, Obi-Wan smiled. 'I don't seem to recall telling you that we wouldn't help.'

The Republic fighters ran toward the door, Luke, Han, Chewy and Leia in tow, entering the hallway near the tower. The hallways were wide allowing many of them to run alongside of each other. One of the fighters next to Luke stopped suddenly, causing the rest to stop as well.

"Listen!"

Faint murmuring was coming from a chamber to their right. They were still in the middle of the hallway, not near the temple center at all yet. The fighters leaned closer and heard a sob, and the murmurings of a child behind the door. Disturbed, several fighters stayed behind to investigate, while others went on ahead to continue the fight with the guards.

Luke and Leia stayed behind and helped to get the door open. To their shock, there were four children inside the room. Small, scared, and dirty, the children were huddling against the far wall away from the door. They looked to be about four or five.

"Hello young ones. My name is Leia, we are going to help you."

"Will-will you take me to see my mommy?" one small child asked, peaking their head around the bed to look at Leia.

"We will certainly try." Leia held out her hand toward the children, and Luke ran out of the room and started opening all the doors. After all the doors were opened, they ended up with around 20 children. Leia took charge of them, getting them back to the New Republic's ship that was still hovering next to the Mesa, waiting for the fighters.

Luke turned to rejoin the fighters once he was sure Leia and the children were safe. Han and Chewy had gone ahead with them, so Luke joined him. As Luke explained what they had found, Han's face was fierce.

"Those child stealing bastards," he swore, walking along the corridor. "Leia take care of them?"

"Yeah, she was taking them to the ship off the mesa when I left. I knew the Empire did this, I just assumed, naively, that it wasn't something I would ever see…I don't know, but now I am even more angry about this situation." Luke walked along side Han, remembering what Master Windu had said about the Jedi taking children also.

'It wasn't the same, Luke.'

"Oh, no? Did you _not_ take children from their parents?"

Han looked at Luke, muttering something about "Force-users", and motioned for Chewy to follow him up to where the commander was standing.

'We did with the full consent and knowledge of the parents and the children. They chose to come with us. Some even brought their children to us for training.'

Luke lowered his voice, to not incite stares from the others around him. "If – when – I get my Jedi school, I will never take children from their parents."

'How do you propose to get students then?'

"I'll only take ones that bring children to me."

'Luke, not all parents will be able to identify Force-sensitivity in their children. They may fear it, if any powers show themselves. You must do what you must in order to build the Jedi up again. We are all needed.'

Luke stopped, facing Master Windu, and let the fighters pass him by. Once he was mostly alone in the corridor, he asked, "We? What do you mean by that?"

'I have said more than I should have.'

"Yeah, maybe, but I want to hear the rest of it. Look, I'm not going to do anything stupid if you just tell me."

Master Windu looked right at Luke, with a stern expression. 'And if I told you that you were heading into your death, fighting the Emperor again. What of that? What would you do if I gave you the secrets of the galaxy?'

Luke leaned closer to him. "I would give my sister, Chewy and Han a farewell, and head to my death. If it means stopping the vision that I saw, I would do it gladly. I thought I told you – all of you! – that already."

They stared at each other for a few minutes, before Luke turned to catch up with Han and Chewy. They were all sitting outside of the entrance to the great hall that Luke had been in earlier, where the Emperor had been. Peering through the cracks in the door, the chamber appeared to be empty.

Chewy murmured a growl.

"You said it. I've got a bad feeling about this," Han said, looking through the crack again. "Where could they have gone?"

"There are many levels to this temple. In reviewing the plans originally from the Clone Wars, the Federation fighters indicated strongholds above the main temple chamber where they would keep extra droids in the larger rooms, as well as additional sleeping quarters for guests. The B'omarr apparently don't sleep? There are no rooms for them specifically." He was reading through a schematic holocron, about as small as his hand. He flipped through the projection for a few minutes. "Here. Look at this."

The holocron looked to be displaying an anti-chamber above the main temple, almost directly above where they were sitting. There were several side entrances, opening into a room with tables and a kiln at the back. That room had a back door that appeared to go right into a large retreat area, that had an overlook of the back side of the mesa.

"Even if they aren't in that room, that gives us access to the rest of the guest quarters, as well as that retreat and balcony area," Han said, looking at the holocron closer. "If we go into this side room, and make a hole in the ceiling, we can climb into a small kitchen area. That gives us access to the main corridors, to where we can encircle the guard, and maybe the Emperor, and surprise them."

"Why not just go up here into the corridor above us?" The commander asked, pointing to a spot on the holocron. "That gives us the same advantage."

Chewy growled an answer while Han shook his head, but Luke was the first to speak, "We don't know where the guards are. If there is a small group in this kitchen area, we can surprise them and take them out quickly using Han's idea. If they are stationed in the corridor, then we lose the surprise attack and they will all come down on top of us. Better to do a smaller room first to be safe."

"Damn, I wish we had brought some droids. We could have used their scanners right about now." Han laughed a little. "Never thought I'd say that!"

The group assembled in the small room to their right, and, in the far corner by the external windows, made a very small hole in the ceiling of the stone building. Chewy reached up to inch the hole bigger, and then slowly stuck his head through.

Chewy growled down to the group, and Han whispered, "It's empty."

Quickly, he made the hole bigger and hoisted himself up. Once secure, he started helping the Republic fighters up, Han and Luke last. Once they were inside the small kitchen area, they made their way to the door into the corridor. Looking through the small cracks in the door, they saw the legion of guards lying in wait for them, surrounding the anti-chamber.

Closing his eyes, Luke concentrated on moving the guards and knocking them over, stunning them to give the fighters an edge. Rushing out of the room, they began to fight, eliminating the guards on their side of the corridor easily.

'Luke!'

He heard Leia's voice and turned quickly toward the kitchen. He ran back into the room and helped hoist her up. He looked at her questioningly.

"I thought you were staying with the children?"

"I turned them over to the sergeant on duty in the infirmary, and Anakin told me that you needed me. So, I came to find you."

"I don't though, I mean we can always use your help, but I don't have an immediate need. I wonder-" Chewy howling stopped him in mid-sentence.

"Luke, get out here!" Han yelled from the corridor. They both raced out to join him, just to stop short. With open mouths they gazed up on a creature in the corridors that was growling with his head lowered staring at the fighters. Luke thought that it looked like a womp rat, but about five sizes bigger.

"What the hell is that?" Han asked Luke quietly, to not cause the creature to pay closer attention to them.

"I don't know, Han. It looks like a womp rat from Tatooine, but way bigger."

"I've seen womp rats, kid, and that's not it." Chewy growled, turning to Han. He kept his crossbow aimed toward the creature as it stirred toward them a little.

"Can we discuss this later, after this thing is dead?" Leia shouted, just as the rat began to run toward them. Fighters turned to run the opposite direction, running straight into the remainder of the guards. While a fight broke out between them, the rat slowed its pace and began walking slowly down the corridor, with its eyes on Luke.

"There is something off about this creature," Luke said, backing away slowly, with everyone sticking close by.

"You mean besides the fact that it shouldn't exist?" Han scoffed.

"No, it's…something of a memory. I can't quite place it…" Before Luke could finish his thought, the rat started running toward them again. Getting out his lightsabre, Luke attempted to swipe the creature and it pushed past them, but he only succeeded in taking a piece of skin off the top of its ear. "It's too fast!"

"Nice shot, kid," Han said dryly, pulling out his blaster and aiming it for the rat. It evaded every blast, though, causing Han to pocket the blaster in frustration. Chewy tried next with the same result. He howled in frustration.

Luke reached his hand out and tried to immobilize the creature. Thinking back to his training with Yoda on Dagobah, he tried to clear his mind and lift. Unfortunately, it felt like it weighed more than his X-wing, and he was unable to even budge it. "I can't move it. It's too heavy. I can't focus enough to calm my mind to raise it."

'Leia, like we discussed,' came his father's voice next to them, though he didn't materialize.

Swiftly, Leia grabbed Luke's hand and closed her eyes. Focusing all her strength, she pushed it into Luke. Feeling like he could fly if he wanted to, Luke reached out his hand again and Forced the creature to levitate slightly. Realizing the opportunity, Han reached for his blaster again; he and Chewy both shot at the same time and this time made a direct hit, causing the creature to go limp. Leia dropped her hand from his, opened her eyes and smiled.

"How did you do that?" Han asked. "I thought it was too heavy?"

Luke sat down, leaning against the wall. When Leia let go of his hand it was like all his energy was gone, which made him feel weary. "Leia. She added her power to my own, so I was able to move it."

Han looked at Leia. "How did you know how to do that?"

"Training," she said, smiling at Luke. He smiled back, but quickly lost it to a new voice behind them.

"Fast work you made of my creature, Jedi. Now see how you fair against me."

**A/N: So, first, sorry I missed yesterday! The day got away from me. **

**Second, remember - liberty-taken zone. Don't forget, as that is important! I'm also happy to report that I am half done with Part 3 already. It's been a ride, so far, that's for sure!**

**Thanks again to my beautiful and awesomesauce beta Zombiefied419! **

Chapter Sources:

wiki/Battle_of_Teth

. /qdUTSsCjHCWEQzX2A

Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Liberty-taking zone, remember? :)**

Chapter 9

_"Fast work you made of my creature, Jedi. Now see how you fair against me."_

The voice came from inside the anti-chamber and echoed off the walls of the corridor. Chewy and the Republic fighters were still preoccupied with the Imperial guards, but Han, Leia and Luke heard him. They drew their weapons and walked hesitantly into the room, not really knowing what to expect.

Luke could sense that the Emperor was in the large retreat on the other side of the anti-chamber, so he steered them through the room toward the door. The door was slightly ajar, and they could see an eerie red light coming from the room as they inched closer.

"Han, you should wait out here for us," Luke said just as they got to the door.

"Like hell."

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Luke would have laughed. He knew Han wouldn't leave him or Leia, but he had to try. He knew what was on the other side of the door and knew what could happen once they got in there. He was afraid for both; he felt like it wasn't their fight. The fight against the Emperor was his that he had apparently lost. He knew that would forever bother him, since he was supposed to have been successful when he joined the celebration on Endor.

Fear tingled through him as the door was pushed all the way open to reveal the Emperor, sitting on a makeshift throne against the far wall. It was next to the large windows that looked out over the cliff of the mesa. What Luke had thought was a kiln, was just a very large fireplace, closed off on this side of the room. The embers were still burning though the fire had long gone out. This cast the red glow he had seen.

"So, feeling confident are you, Jedi? You bested my guards and my creature, so you think you can battle me again?" He sneered at Luke, but as Luke moved aside to allow Leia and Han into the room the sneer turned to interest. "Oh, you brought more Jedi for me to engulf!"

Leia's mouth twisted in disgust as she gazed upon the Emperor for the first time. Han was uncharacteristically quiet, just holding onto the back of Luke's robe while keeping Leia close to him. United, they stood before a man who should be dead, ready to face their fate for the galaxy. Luke almost smiled to himself, thinking of the spitfire Jedi he'd met and what she would have thought of how he was thinking.

"You cannot win, your highness. We three together can conquer you just as easily as we conquered your monster," Luke said, with unfelt confidence.

"You misunderstand, Jedi," The Emperor said, spiting the word Jedi out as if it was an expletive. "I have already won."

Luke pushed the team to the right just as the Emperor fired a bolt of lightning toward them. Han let out a curse as he and Leia tumbled to the ground. Luke angled his lightsabre toward the electric bolts firing toward him and tried to deflect the energy like Master Windu had taught him. He was not as successful as he had been during training, though, but he did manage to reflect the bolts out toward the window.

Glass came crashing down as the bolts of electricity cut right through them. The shock of the sound hit Han and Leia, as they were not expecting it, but Luke's eyes never left the Emperor.

"I've learned a few things since the last time I fought you, your highness," Luke said, putting more distance between him and Han and Leia. Trying to keep the Emperor's focus on him rather than them. Han wasn't thinking along the same lines as he reached out and began firing with his blaster.

The Emperor lifted his hand easily stopping the blasts, then whipped the blaster toward him letting it fall to the floor. Luke stepped in front of them getting the Emperor's attention again.

"We know exactly where Snoke is, and we are going to destroy him and the new Empire you are trying to build. We know of your plan to kidnap children, and we will stop that as well." He had gained the Emperor's attention again successfully, so he began to walk toward him slowly. "You will not win."

The Emperor just laughed and sent a much stronger bolt of energy toward Luke. Expecting it, Luke angled the lightsabre again, but it was stronger than the others had been. It shocked him all over his body, but it burned the worst where it hit directly on his chest. Luke went flying back, skidding to a halt near the door.

Leia gave a shriek and grabbed his lightsabre that had dropped when he was hit. She tried to strike the Emperor, but he sent a bolt toward her as well. Han pulled out the blaster that he always kept in reserve, firing a shot hitting the Emperor on the shoulder. He roared in anger, throwing Han toward the wall, stunning him.

Luke lay on the ground, breathing heavily in pain. Leia made her way over to sit beside him, focusing all her energy on healing him, but not taking her eyes off the Emperor. He laughed seeing the two of them down on the ground. Just as he raised his hands to deliver, presumably, the fatal blow to both Luke and Leia, a rush of energy and fog swept into the chamber.

The Emperor screamed as a small tendril of blue energy came down almost from the ceiling and beveled itself into the ground just next to his feet. It was a sort of twisting, intense light, that was almost blinding when looking at it directly. Whatever the light was doing, it was causing pain to the Emperor. His face was screwed up in pain and he was frantically trying to eliminate the brilliant light.

Luke and Leia were both transfixed by the show in front of them. The light was emanating and reflecting everywhere in the room, and even though it was dark outside, it felt as though the sun were shining directly into the room. As the two watched on, a figure to the right of the Emperor came more into focus. Arms stretched above her head, eyes closed in concentration, was a physical manifestation of Depa Billaba.

More blue shards of light came crashing down, as they started to form a circle around the Emperor. His screaming continued as he attempted to hit those surrounding him with his electricity, but it bounced off and deflected back to him, causing him to almost crumble. A Force energy of some kind kept him aloft, though, because when he crumbled, his feet giving way, he didn't lower to the ground.

To the left of the Emperor, another figure began to solidify. He was posed in similar fashion to Depa, but he had a small smile on his face. Yoda's smile was almost fierce, though, as he brought down more shards of blue.

Leia's healing began to falter as she lost strength, so Luke pushed her out. They both lay on the ground staring up at what was quickly becoming a brilliant blue tomb. He felt Han sit down next to them, capturing Leia in his arms. She sagged against him, completely worn out.

"Who are they?" Han whispered, but neither of them had the strength to answer him.

Luke smiled as he watched the figure next to Yoda begin to take the shape of his old Master, whom he hadn't seen with his own eyes in years. Soon, he was forced to look away from the Jedi, as the wall of blue energy was becoming too much for his eyes to handle.

Looking up but keeping his eyes narrow, he could see that the wall spanned from the ground to the ceiling and was semi-opaque. He could see shadows on the other side of it, but if he hadn't known the Emperor was inside, he would never have guessed. The full shape of him was not clear, but it was obvious that he was still trying to break his way out of the tomb. The wall sizzled when bolts of lightning would hit it from the inside, but it showed no sign of faltering.

With his strength diminishing rapidly, Luke lay down just as the Jedi began to turn toward him, having completed their task. The last thing Luke remembered seeing was the smiling face of his father leaning over him.

**A/N: OK, I know, really bad place to stop. Sorry! And I know this one is shorter than most of the other ones, but I really couldn't find a better place to stop. Starting the conclusion next Tuesday, and the fic will be done by next Friday. However, good news to all of you who are reading and enjoying this, Part 2 will be posted just after this is done. More on the name and how/where to find it on Friday!**

**Thanks to my awesome beta, who I couldn't do this without, Zombiefied419!**

**There were many things that are sort of reference points for this chapter, but I did primarily use the sources below. This is where I took existing lore and turned it into what I needed it to be. Hopefully you still enjoyed it :)**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/Wall_of_light

Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: A little more explanations here. Winding down on Part 1 of my story. More at the end :) Enjoy!**

Chapter 10

The lights in the ship weaved by him as he struggled to fully wake up. He could hear murmuring voices around him but wasn't able to identify any of them. The pain in his chest was starting to ebb just a little, which was making it easier to come to.

"I want a fleet to stand guard here. We can't have Snoke coming back to help free his master."

"Make sure you have men who don't have families. Maybe have them volunteer for the position. They could be out here for years," a familiar voice said, very clearly standing right next to him.

"You don't think we should just rotate them?"

"Oh, do that as well, I'm just saying that since we are so far out, it would be better to have soldiers who don't have families at home waiting for them?"

"Why not have them bring their families with them? Then they can set up a makeshift camp here until fighting starts." The Republic commander offered.

"Putting children in the path to the Emperor?" Depa's voice sounded shocked at this suggestion.

"We are _not_ doing that!" Leia could be fierce when needed; that made Luke smile.

"I see someone is waking up," Depa leaned over him. "Stop just listening in and wake up already. Then we can have a proper conversation."

Opening his eyes slowly, Luke looked around him. He was lying in a hospital bed in a small infirmary room on the New Republic ship. In the room with him made him stop and stare for a moment: Yoda, Obi-Wan, Depa, his father, and then two men he only partially recognized.

"What are all of you doing here?" Luke managed to ask, sitting up slightly and waving off the medical droid.

"Oh, Master Luke! R2 and I are so grateful that you are safe! He kept saying that he wanted to go with you, and of course I had no idea where you had gone, but I told him that if you had needed him then he would be with you, so it was silly to-"

"3PO, can you give us a few minutes?" Leia asked, interrupting him.

"Oh! Uh, yes, Princess!" 3PO left, but R2 remained behind, beeping at all of them and firmly rooting his wheels in the ground. "Get going, R2! They need a few moments to talk!"

Finally, once the droids had left, Anakin walked over to Luke and looked down at him. Luke sat up all the way and enveloped his father in a giant hug. Being able to get a hug from his father was probably the best feeling he'd ever had to that point. But concern over the why of the situation dawned on him.

"How did this happen? How long are you here?" Luke asked, leaning away from his father, glancing up at all of them. Leia stood to the side a bit just listening, not sure who any of them were.

"We are here to help you, as we said we would be," Obi-Wan said, sitting on a chair next to the wall. "As to how long, we do not know."

"Obi-Wan, start with why, you should." Yoda sat on the floor next to the chair and looked up expectedly.

"When you had your premonition, this shocked all of us to our core. We were not expecting this of the Emperor. Only one Sith that we knew of had mastered the art of never dying, and it wasn't Palpatine. But as you got further into your vision, we knew it to be true. We had to act. The Dark was overwhelming us, and we couldn't allow that to happen."

"So, while we were training you, we were also devising a plan that would help you all in the long run. It was not unheard of for Jedi to come back, temporarily, to assist in the destruction of the Dark side. Especially one who threatened so much." Anakin added.

"The Dark side has always seemed stronger, to those who do not understand the Force," a man in the back said. Luke recognized him as Master Windu. "But, with the Force, it is as strong as your belief in it is. The Dark side seems stronger because they care little about what's around them. They manipulate and ruin wherever they go without heed to consequences; thus, they appear stronger. We know this to be false."

"But, really, they were being very stupid. The Emperor really lacked the strength to mask what he was doing. You should have never been able to see Snoke, the forces on Exegol, or any of the future that you had seen, child." Depa walked closer to Anakin, next to Luke's bed. "Because of this, we knew he was too arrogant to remember the Light had tremendous power also. We knew he wouldn't have shielded himself from what we could rain down on him."

"Hmm, too arrogant, he is. Too sure of our fate to consider his own."

"But he initiated that false vision!" Luke said, sitting up a little taller. "He was trying to throw me off his track."

"Yes, son, but that was already after you had figured out what he was doing. He was trying to throw you off because you had seen the true future."

"What was that you did to the Emperor?" Leia asked, finally stepping forward and into the conversation. She still looked a little bewildered standing amid all the Jedi, but Luke was sure that no one else could tell that. She was very good at hiding emotions.

"Ah, that was the brilliant plan of one of our colleagues. He opted to stay behind, but not before sharing all of his knowledge with us," said a Jedi that Luke couldn't quite remember. He looked familiar, but not enough to place a name to. The Jedi's eyes turned to Luke. "I am Qui-Gon Jinn, young one. I was your father's advocate to the council and Obi-Wan's teacher."

Luke nodded in greeting to him, but his mind was still focused on hearing the answer to Leia's question. Understanding, Qui-Gon continued.

"Odan-Urr, a Jedi master hundreds of years ago, trained us to construct a Force wall. Like what we helped you construct around young Ben. This wall is made up of Light-side energy, a power the Emperor has long forgotten. He believes the Jedi to be weak, and this helps us. He was not expecting this attack, and it will contain him." Qui-Gon made eye contact with Anakin.

Luke looked between the two men. "What aren't you telling us?"

Anakin shifted a little so that he was looking at Luke. "This is not a permanent solution. We can contain him, but not forever. Eventually, he will break out or the wall will crumble." He was hedging. There was more, Luke could feel it.

"And?"

"Do you remember what we told you of Ben? When you release the containment around him, that it could hurt him?"

"Yes. You said it was like a blind person gaining all of their sight at once, it would be overwhelming and painful…" Luke looked at Leia. "Oh!"

Yoda nodded, agreeing with Luke's inner thoughts. "Angry he must feel, even now. Worse it will be when the wall comes down. In pain, irate…more dangerous than ever before."

"How long will this wall last? We are stationing troops there, but we didn't know how long we need to keep them here."

"We are unsure of the length of this wall, unfortunately," Depa said.

"If we are unsure of the length, I'm going to tell the commander to do a 6-month solider rotation. Young men and women without families, so we don't have to ask them to be away from them as long," Leia began walking toward the door, after winking at Depa.

"I am going to take charge of you, child." Depa smiled at Leia.

"Charge?" Leia and Luke asked at the same time.

"The other reason we are here. We told you that we would help you, Luke, and we are completing that promise. We have succeeded in temporarily blocking the Emperor, but in order to fully defeat him you must have more." Obi-Wan leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "The Jedi school, Luke. It's time that was formed."

Luke shook his head a little. "I don't understand. I mean, I knew that I was going to create this Jedi school, but today has demonstrated that I am not ready to take on students. I have much to learn about the Force. There was a Force creature and massive shards of light that I had never even heard of until I _saw_ them today. How can I teach if I do not understand?"

To Luke's astonishment, all the Jedi around him were smiling. He could feel their pride in his statement.

"Who said you have to know everything to teach?" Yoda asked, standing up and facing Luke. "Even now, know I everything the Force can do? No! And neither can you. Learn with your students, you will."

"It's the best kind of teaching," said Depa, smiling even bigger. "Leia and I will have a great time. We will learn from each other, won't we child?"

Leia, rolling with it as usual, smiled slightly up at Depa. He could see their friendship developing easily since their personalities were so similar. "Absolutely!"

Leia excused herself after that to go speak with the commander. The Jedi didn't seem to tire, but Luke certainly was. He asked to continue their talk later so he could rest. As they all began to file out of the room, Luke held his father back asking him for just a moment.

"Did we stop that future, Father?"

"It's difficult to tell at this point. What we did has changed the timeline, of that I am certain. But everything? I cannot see that, my son." Anakin shook his head, taking Luke's hand. "We will be here for as long as we can to help."

"Wait, you aren't back permanently?"

Anakin looked down for a moment before answering. "We don't know how long we can maintain these forms. I doubt it will be permanent, but we were not given all the answers prior. All of us made the choice to come back to help you and Leia; once our choice was made, we were not able to see past that decision."

Luke looked into the face of his father. Looking healthy and happy, as he had on Endor as a ghost. He was a far cry from the machine of Darth Vader; and in fact, had very little in common with that monster. His eyes seemed alive with humor. It was difficult to even tell that he should be a ghost.

"I am happy to have you here, Father. Even if it's for a short time. You can get to know your grandson now. Not to mention Leia and Han."

"Oh, Leia and I have had some time together, even prior to this. I expect our relationship to improve more now."

"Oh, I was going to ask about that! How much were you able to train Leia? I know that you were able to teach her to heal me, that came in very handy."

"She's going to be a brilliant Jedi, son. She doesn't have to unlearn anything and takes direction surprisingly well. She will be able to take down the wall around young Ben without help. What I trained her on was necessary. She still needs regular training."

"Wait, we can take the wall down from Ben already?" Luke was confused. It hadn't been that long since he had left, how is it possible that it could be removed already? "Won't Snoke just make his way back into Ben's mind?"

"Well, we are all of two minds about that. We believe that much of the power Snoke had was from the Emperor. With that cut off, I don't believe that he will be able to get to Ben as he had before. However, some others believe we must be cautious. Ben must stay near us for the foreseeable future during training, that way we can ensure Snoke is not coming back.

"Once Rey is born, we must locate her immediately. She is really the key to keeping Ben away from the Dark."

"Well, I guess that means we have at least 10 to 15 years to watch Ben like a hawk. We'll start looking for Rey then." Luke looked up at his father again. "Are you all really going to help me start this school?"

"Wouldn't miss it, son. We all have a lot to learn."

**A/N: So, as I said, I have borrowed from existing lore for SW and made certain things my own. Part 2 is edited and ready, so look forward to Episode VIII to be posted on Saturday, following the final chapter in this part posted on Friday. Part 2 is very different, but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Follow or subscribe to me on FF or AO3 for updates. Once I post the last chapter for this part, I'll be sure to give you all the name of VIII.**

**I think part of my motivation here is that we simply do not get enough of some of these characters in the movies. I wanted "my" sequel series to have more than a "redemption upon death" storyline.**

**Thanks again to my wonderful beta Zombiefied419. Seriously, don't know what I would do without you my friend!**

**Chapter Sources:**

**Movies:**

**Star Wars A New Hope**

**Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back**

**Star Wars The Return of the Jedi**

**Star Wars The Phantom Menace**

**Star Wars Attack of the Clones**

**Star Wars Revenge of the Sith**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Bit of a time jump here...more notes at the bottom, but this is the final chapter for this part.**

~6 years later~

Luke looked over his students with awe and respect. Starting the Jedi school was something that had concerned him a great deal in the beginning, but now he wondered why he hadn't just jumped at the opportunity. The students made him feel more alive, and to trust in the Force even more. Things that he couldn't have, they could. Their trust in the Force was so absolute that it sometimes caused him to doubt himself as a Jedi master.

In the years since fighting the Emperor, Luke questioned himself many times. His father was quick to tell him that he worried too much, which seemed to be his mantra at this point. But even with Anakin giving him reassurances, he still felt that he could have done better; this school made him feel that way. He had needed the Jedi to step in back then, and he was convinced that he would need them to again.

As he was building up his school on Yavin 4, recruiting Force-sensitive people (because he refused to only allow children), his sister was preoccupied with tracking down Snoke. She and her team in the New Republic command were close to locating Exegol. Turned out the planet wasn't easy to track down, since it wasn't on any star maps they had. She and Han came back quite often, though, so Ben didn't feel like they were always gone. There were times when they would work from the school rather than go back to Chandrila. Ben flourished when they were around.

Ah, Ben. Luke's most loved student. A child of stardust, as one of the other students called him. A boy whose happiness just seemed to radiate around him causing others to feel it, too. He was not too big to just reach out and hug his uncle and most of the time for no good reason other than he wanted to. His toothless grin lit up the very sky around him when he was in session. Luke did most of his training, but the other Jedi were all eager to help with Ben, so he had to step back now and then.

Ben was only six years old, so he didn't have a lot of knowledge of the Jedi and why they were here. He knew that they weren't here forever. Qui-Gon Jinn was the first of the Jedi to fade, causing Ben to collapse into tears. He had only been three at the time, and Qui-Gon was very close to him. They had worked together shielding Ben's mind so that Snoke couldn't come back, which so far had worked tremendously. Explaining to Ben that Qui-Gon was only supposed to be with them for a short while was not easy.

In the end, they just told Ben that Qui-Gon had loved him very much and he was in a better place. When Mace Windu faded two years later, the conversation had been a little easier, but still tough. In the year since they had lost Mace, Luke and the other Jedi had many conversations regarding this phenomenon they were experiencing – and usually to no conclusion.

"Fleeting, we knew it would be," Yoda would say.

"But we have not sensed any of them back within the Force, Master Yoda. What if when you fade you are gone permanently?" Luke would counter.

"We all knew that was a possibility, Luke. We are enjoying the time we have," Anakin would state proudly, grabbing a squealing Ben as he was running by and placing him on his knee. "Things that we never thought we would be able to do are now possible. This is enough."

"Father…"

"Treasure the time you have with us, child," Depa would say as she would come up to help Anakin tickle Ben.

"You cannot escape destiny any more than we can," Obi-Wan would say, leaning back in his chair laughing at the giggling boy.

More often than anything Luke would just come away from that conversation more frustrated than when had gone in. He knew the Jedi were concerned, though they would not reveal this to him. It was a worrisome thought that when their time here was done, he wouldn't see them again. He had come to rely on them too much. This sparked a heated discussion with Depa once, though, when he felt that he could bring it to her.

"Do you not believe that you can teach these children yourself?"

"I am still learning myself. I have as many sessions as the rest. And they are not all children, Depa, U'Kurran asked me to remind you of this. He is older than you were when you died."

"He could be two centuries older than I and I would still call him a child, which I told him yesterday," she said, flippantly. "He is a child in the Force."

Luke rolled his eyes, used to her snarky comments by this point.

"My point is, _child_," she said, "you can do this without us. But until we disappear, be grateful you have us."

"Depa, what if I can't, though? What if everyone's confidence in me is misplaced?"

She stared intently at him for a few moments before becoming stern. "If you feel that way, then maybe we have misplaced our confidence. We, the fallen Jedi, believe that you have the capacity, knowledge and strength to best the Dark side and keep your family safe. We believe that your spirit alone could be sufficient, because you will simply not allow your family to be harmed. Are we wrong?"

Her gaze intensified as she spoke, making Luke feel uncomfortable. "You are not wrong."

"Good," she said, releasing him and starting to walk away. "Then we won't hear about this again, I assume?"

"I thought you encouraged questions!" Luke called after her.

"Only ones that make sense, young one." She called back.

He did enjoy having her around, though. Even though she was a ball of fire most of the time. He really liked that she was unconventional; she would say things that the other Jedi wouldn't. But, the most shocking statement that he had heard when starting to plan out Ben's training was actually from his father.

"I have to get this planned out right; we need to make sure that whatever we do, we are not forgetting that Snoke wants him as an apprentice. So, we teach him defensive skills first maybe? Or do we start him as any other Jedi in training with Force overview or something?" Luke was mostly talking out loud to the Jedi in his room. They had arrived at Yavin 4 just a month earlier, so he was still getting used to being a part of the crowd, rather than having his own space like he did on Chandrila.

"Don't teach him the ways of the Jedi, Luke."

Everyone in the room looked to Anakin, who's comment startled them.

"What do you mean, Anakin?" Obi-Won ventured first, leaning forward slightly. "Are we to teach him the way to the Sith?"

Anakin rolled his eyes, a motion he learned from Luke. "You misunderstand me, my friend. Teach him the ways of the Force, not the ways of the Jedi. The Jedi are flawed men and women who have dictated what they believe of the Force over the years. Some of it is solid and makes sense; but some of it is critically out of date or simply detrimental to the realities of life."

"Explain more, you must. I am not understanding how the Jedi are detrimental to life, Anakin." Yoda stood up and walked toward Luke and his father. "The Jedi Code speaks of peace, knowledge and harmony with the Force, it does. Detrimental to life, this is not."

Anakin was shaking his head. "The Jedi Code speaks of more than that, Yoda. And most of it I believe in. What I do not believe in is stifling children into believing that they are not allowed to be flawed individuals. Not a one of us is perfect. Yoda, would you say that any of us are?"

"I would not."

"Good, then the boast of the Jedi Code is flawed given that conclusion."

"What to strive for, it is. Not what we all are. Vanity is thinking oneself perfect, but there is no vanity in the Force."

"I agree, which is why I maintain: Teach him the ways of the Force, not the ways of the Jedi."

"What exactly is the Jedi code? I'm sure that I've heard it before, but I can't remember it offhand." All the Jedi turned their eyes to Luke.

"'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the force.'" Depa quoted, eyes closed.

"This is not the oath you recited after your injury and retesting, Master Depa." Mace Windu smiled at her as she opened her eyes to look at him.

Depa huffed out a laugh, closing her eyes again. "'Emotion, yet peace; ignorance, yet knowledge; passion, yet serenity; chaos, yet harmony; death, yet the Force.'" Opening her eyes, she looked at Luke with a pointed glance. "I never cared much for the original oath either. However," she said, turning her sights to Anakin. "I am hesitant to agree with you, Anakin, as I would like more information about what you mean by your comments."

"If we were to reconstruct the oath, my sister, let's discuss in detail my meaning…" He stood up, so that he could make eye contact with them all. "First, 'there is no emotion.' This is a dangerous comment, as it is clearly stating that no Jedi should have any emotions. As a person, this is not only impossible but dangerous. One must have emotions in order to survive. It is what they chose to do with it that makes the man – or woman.

"In the second, 'there is no ignorance,' this is also a dangerous assumption, as most people are ignorant to things that they have not been made aware. Through the Force we gain knowledge in our worlds, galaxy, environment, but we must also acknowledge that we do not know everything and be open to this knowledge.

"The next statement 'there is no passion' is of particular concern to me. Do we not encourage our youth to seek out love and understanding from those not in their immediate family or tribe? Do we not want them to have children, get married, find friends? Indicating they cannot have passion in their lives restricts people from actually living.

"And finally, 'there is no chaos' and 'there is no death' are misnomers. This can display, particularly to children, that these do not exist in the galaxy. We all know this to be false. We must prepare our children for chaos and death, and then the answer to both within the Force.

"What I am saying, brothers and sister, is that we must instruct a new way of thinking within the Jedi order, if we are to keep what happened to me from happening again." Anakin sat down and looked over to Luke. "Take my ramblings for what they are, son. A man who lost everything once because he was instructed by the Jedi that he was not allowed to feel."

"Mister Luke, sir?"

Luke broke free of his memory and looked down at the small child standing next to him. "Yes, Odinna?"

"There's a new recruit here. Her parents are waiting for you in the hanger bay near their ship." Odinna smiled at him and ran back to join her classmates.

"Thank you, Odinna!" He called after her, smiling. He walked into the building, away from the training grounds on the far side of the base. Making his way through the hallways to the hanger bay, smiling in hello to those he met, he thought of the speech that he would give parents who brought their children to him. What a wondrous thing to happen, truly, so he always made a point to have a nice conversation with them.

Thinking about what would need to be pushed from his agenda that afternoon so he could spend time with the recruit, Luke turned the corner into the hanger bay and caught sight of her. She was a small human girl of about four or five. Standing next to her were, presumably, her parents. The father was tall, with dark brown hair, and a worried smile on his face. Even stranger than that, though, was the mother. She stood next to the child, her arm around her, with tears streaming down her face.

"Hello. I'm Luke, and this is my school. I understand we have a new recruit?"

"Hello, Luke," the man said, sticking out his hand. "My name Will, this is my wife Jodie."

"Hello, Will. Jodie," Luke smiled at them both. This only made Jodie cry more. "I'm sorry, I know that it can be scary to leave your child with me, but I promise- "

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Luke. But my wife is just worried that you will not help us. I told her that you are a Jedi, and you won't refuse us. I'm sure of it. I have heard of the good of the Jedi my whole life."

"Of course, I'm happy to help. Why don't we go sit down and you can tell me what's going on?" Luke was curious, but he had already reached out and tested the girl while he was walking up to them. He would definitely help them; the girl was very powerful within the Force already.

"You didn't ask us our last name." Jodie stared straight at Luke.

"It doesn't matter to me what your name- "

"Luke, I'm going to save time and just tell you. My full name is William Palpatine. My father is the former senator Palpatine, who was the Sith leader Darth Sidious."

Luke stopped and stared at him. For a moment, time around him faltered. "What is your daughter's name?" Luke asked, breaking himself out of his shock.

"Sir, I don't think you under- "

"What is your daughter's name?" Luke said, raising his voice slightly.

"I'm Rey. Just Rey; right Mum?" Rey looked up at her mother, clearly proud of something.

_Rey_…she wasn't due to be born for many years. _What have I done?_

**A/N: Uh-oh...how does this play into the story? Find out in Part 2 that will be posted either tonight or tomorrow morning! Follow/subscribe to me to get notifications, or come back tomorrow and search for:**

**Episode VIII: The Advance of the Padawans**

**This is bittersweet for me; I loved writing and posting this part, but Part 2 is my absolute favorite! I hope you all come back for that, because I'm super excited to share it with all of you. Part 2 chapters are longer than the ones in this part, due to necessity...**

**Thank you again to my husband who gave me this idea to run with, and of course my lovely beta Zombiefied419 - can't say how much she has helped me with all of this!**

**Look for me on and AO3 :) More to come soon!**

**Chapter Sources:**

wiki/Jedi_Code

Star Wars: The Jedi Path

Movies:

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker


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